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^UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.^ 



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fmS little book is designed to anticipate and 
answer many of the questions which would be 
asked by persons contemplating a removal from 
some other region to Kansas. At the same time 
it has been my purpose to convey information which 
will be of service not only to Kansas immigrants 
but to all other immigrants as well. For instance, the 
articles upon " The Survey of Government Lands," 
indorsed by the Surveyor General of Kansas; and 
upon "Acquiring Title to Government Lands," in- 
dorsed by the United States Land Officers, are 
intended to be so explicit that with their help any 
person may locate Government Land by its corners, 
and then take proper steps to acquire a title by any 
of the various methods established by Government. 
I have endeavored to be strictly impartial as relates 
to different localities in Kansas, and have written as 
if addressing an intimate friend who was entirely 
ignorant concerning the subjects discussed. It is 
designed to furnish a hand-book which will be worth 
all its costs to any person interested in the "West. 



Vi PREFACE. 

This book is the outgrowth of experience in rela- 
tion to the matters of which it treats, and the reader 
is requested to bear in mind that it is not written by 
a professional author. It is hoped that upon this 
ground its many defects will be more leniently 
regarded. 

The map has been drawn and engraved with great 
care, and everything upon it is from official sources 
excepting the proposed railroad lines. With this 
exception it is intended to be strictly accurate, and 
it is probable that most of the projected roads will 
be constructed in a few years. 

I gladly record my gratitude to the numberless 
friends who have rendered valuable service in fur- 
nishing material for this work, and especially to the 
members of the Legislature of 1871, which almost 
without dissent appropriated twenty-five hundred 
dollars to aid in its publication. Without these kind 
offices on the part of my friends and those who 
desire to see the State correctly described, it would 
have been impossible to sell the work for the small 
sum at which it is offered. 

To Mr. J. G. Haskell, the accomplished architect 
of the State Capitol, State University and many 
other buildings which bespeak his taste and skill, I 
am deeply indebted for assistance in the matter of 
engravings. Through his introduction I have been 
able to obtain precisely what was wanted from Mr. 
S. S. Kilburn,^96 Washington Street; Boston, Massa- 



PREFACE. VU 

chusetts, whose promptness and accuracy I can com- 
mend and whose work commends itself. Two or 
three coarser engravings were obtained from other 
sources, but they give accurate views of the objects 
presented. The views given are only samples of 
what is to be seen in Kansas. From several towns 
it happened to be impossible to procure such views 
as were wanted ; and there are buildings, bridges, 
water powers, etc., in all parts of the State which 
would interest the reader equally with those given. 
The engravings are nearly all from photographs, but 
in a few instances, the buildings are not yet com- 
pleted, and the views given are from the architect's 
plans. It is believed that this feature of the book 
will commend itself to all who desire to know Kansas 
as it is. 

This book points out various means whereby more 
extended information can be obtained in regard to 
any particular locality, and the author will also an- 
swer all letters addressed to him at Topeka, with 
stamps inclosed. I shall give especial attention to 
all changes in the laws, or in the rulings of the Gen- 
eral Land Office^ in relation to public lands, and 
will furnish the same at a trifling expense to my 
correspondents. 

C. C. H. 



mn 



BOUNDARIES AND AREA. 

5i HE parallel of 40 degrees north latitude, which 
M , passes eastward a little north of Springfield, 
Y Illinois, and Indianapolis, Indiana; and through 
Columbus, Ohio, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 
forms the northern line of the State of Kansas. 

The southern boundary line of Kansas is the 
parallel of 37 degrees, which is the latitude of 
Southern Kentucky and Virginia, passing through 
Norfolk in the latter State. Westward from Kansas 
this line strikes the Pacific coast fifty miles south of 
San Francisco. 

Nebraska lies on the north of Kansas ; Missouri 
on the east ; the Indian territory on the south ; and 
Colorado on the west. 

Kansas is about 210 miles wide and 430 miles long. 
Its area is about 90,000 square miles, or 57,600,000 
acres. 

RIVERS. 

A considerable portion of the boundary line be- 
tween Missouri and Kansas is formed by the Mis- 
souri river, upon the windings of which navigable 
stream, the State presents a water front to the east 
of about one hundred and fifty miles. This river 
is navigable for steamboats for twenty-five hundred 
miles above the northern State line, north and west- 
ward to Fort Benton, near the Hocky Mountains and 
British Possessions; and southeastward five hundred 
miles to the point of intersection with the Missis- 



;10 Hutchinson's Kansas. 

sippi, twenty-five miles above St. Louis. The length 
of the bridge which spans the Missouri at Leaven- 
worth City, is one thousand feet, but the river is, in 
places, half a mile wide. 

The other principal rivers of the State are as fol- 
lows : The Kansas or Kaw Eiver, is formed by the 
confluence of the Eepublican and Smoky Hill Elvers, 
near Junction City, and is about one hundred and 
fifty miles in length. 

The Smok}^ Hill Eiver rises near the Eocky Moun- 
tains, in Colorado. It receives the Saline Eiver, which 
is about two hundred miles long, and the Solomon, 
about two hundred and fifty miles in length. 

The Eepublican Eiver rises in Colorado, flows 
through Northwestern Kansas into Nebraska, whence 
it returns to Kansas, about one hundred and fifty 
miles west of the eastern line of the State. Its 
length from its source is more than four hundred 
miles. 

The Kansas Eiver receives on the north, at Man- 
hattan, the Big Blue Eiver, which rises in Nebraska 
and is about one hundred and twenty-five miles long; 
and the Grasshopper, about seventy-five miles in 
length. On the south it receives, near Lawrence, 
the Wakarusa, which is nearly fifty miles in length. 
The Kansas Eiver flows nearly due east from Junc- 
tion City, and enters the Missouri Eiver at a point 
where the latter, making a great bend to the east- 
ward, leaves the State line. About two-thirds of 
the State lies south of the Kansas and Smoky Hill 
Elvers, whence that portion is frequently called 
Southern Kansas, and the remainder of the State 
Northern Kansas. The Kansas Eiver is not prac- 
tically navigable, although steamboats have ascended 
it, in one instance to Fort Eiley, which is on the 
Smoky Hill, above the mouth of the Eepublican. 

The Marais des Cygnes Eiver, or Eiver of Swans, 
which Whittier has immortalized in song, rises east 



RIVERS. 



11 



of the center of the State, and flowing south of east 
about one hundred and twenty -five miles, crosses the 
State line near Fort Scott, and becomes the Osage 
Eiver of Missouri. 

Spring Eiver enters Kansas from Missouri, and 
flows about thirty miles in the southeast corner of 
this State, whence it enters the Indian Territory. 




Old building erected 1865. 

The ]N"eosho River rises near the center of the 
State, receives the Cottonwood and other confluent 
streams, flows southeast a distance of about two 
hundred miles, and enters the Indian Territory 
twenty-five miles west of the southeastern corner of 
Kansas. 



12 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS, 

The Cottonwood, which enters the N'eosho near 
Emporia, is much the larger stream at their junc- 
tion. It is about one hundred miles long. 

The Verdigris Eiver flows south nearly parallel to 
the Neosho, and enters the Indian Territory about 
one hundred miles from its source. It receives Fall 
Eiver on the west, which is about sixty miles long. 

The Arkansas Eiver rises far up among the Eocky 
Mountains in the South Park of Colorado, and re- 
ceives many tributaries in the latter State. It crosses 
three-fourths of the length of Kansas, flowing east 
and southeast, and with its tributaries, waters two- 
thirds of Southern Kansas. It then flows through 
the northeastern one-third of the Indian Territory, 
receiving all the remaining streams of Southern 
Kansas, crosses the State of Arkansas, and enters 
the Mississippi Eiver midway between Memphis 
and Yicksburg. Its entire length is more than two 
thousand miles; its windings in Kansas must amount 
to about five hundred miles. 

The first tributary of the Arkansas, commencing 
on the north or east side, near the south line of the 
State, at Arkansas City, is the Walnut, which flows 
from the north a distance of about seventy-five miles, 
receiving as tributary, the Whitewater. At Wichita 
the Arkansas receives the Little Arkansas, a deep 
flowing river, about seventy-five miles in length, 
Next comes in the Cow Creek, nearly as long, and at 
Fort Zarah, on the northernmost part of the Big 
Bend of the Arkansas, Walnut Eiver enters from 
the w^cst, it being about one hundred miles long. 
Beyond are Ash Creek, Pawnee Fork, &c. On the 
south or west side of the Arkansas it receives the 
Sha-kus-ka, the Nin-ne-scah or Good Eiver, the Cow 
Skin and others, from fifty to seventj^-five miles long. 

In the southwestern corner of Kansas the Cimar- 
ron flows a considerable distance in the State and 
receives the waters of Medicine Lodge, Mule Creek, 



SURFACE AND SCENERY. IS 

INes-cu-tun-ga, Bluff Creek, &c., each from fifty to 
one hundred miles long. This region has not yet 
been surveyed, so that these streams, as well as 
streams of importance in Northwestern Kansas, are 
not put down on the map. There are numerous 
streams from twenty-five to seventy-five miles long, 
including tributaries of the Eepublican and Solomon 
Hivers, which have not been mentioned. 

The rivers named above, with their innumerable 
tributaries, fed by rivulets flowing from never-failing 
springs, have given to Kansas its reputation of being 
the best watered region of all the prairie States. 

SURFACE AND SCENERY. 

To describe the surface and scenery of Kansas so 
that it can be appreciated by those who have never 
seen a prairie State is quite impossible, and scarcely 
less difficult is it to describe it to one who has only 
seen the flat prairies of Central Illinois. In general 
it may be called an undulating plateau, the surface 
of which very gently slopes from the western line, 
which baa an altitude of about thirty-five hundred 
feet above the ocean, to the eastern line, which is 
seven hundred and fifty feet above the ocean at the 
mouth of the Kansas Eiver. 

The rise of the first one hundred miles on the 
Kansas Pacific Eailroad from the Eastern State line 
to Wamego is two hundred and fifty-four feet; for 
the second hundred miles to Brookville the rise is 
three hundred and forty-eight feet; the rise of the 
third hundred miles to Ellis is seven hundred and 
sixty-nine feet, and the rise thence to Eagle Tail 
which is near the Western State line is thirteen 
hundred and seventeen feet. 

The interval lands along the water courses, called 
bottoms, are from one fourth of a mile to three miles 
in width, but towards the western part of the State 



14 Hutchinson's Kansas. 

are sometimes from five to ten miles wide. JSTone of 
the bottom land in the State is regularly subject to 
overflow and when high waters occur on a few 
streams they subside in three or four days. The 
ordinary flow of water, in the larger streams, is 
fifteen or twenty feet below the surface of the bottom 
lands, almost invariably insuring perfect drainage. 
The bottoms in the eastern half of the State are 
about equally divided between wooded and open 
lands. 

Leaving the bottoms, one comes upon the next 
highest surface called second bottom. This forma- 
tion is almost entirely absent from many streams of 
the State, and it varies so much in different places 
that it can hardly be described. It varies in extent 
from a narrow belt, to a width of two or three miles, 
and usually rises gently as it recedes from the stream. 
The surface is diversified by gentle roUs ordinarily 
running nearly at right angles with the streams, with 
their crowns from an eighth to a half mile apart and 
rising twenty to forty feet above the intervening 
depressions. 

Back from the second bottoms the traveler strikes 
the bluffs which rise to a hight of from fifty to two 
hundred or three hundred feet, with a slope of about 
twenty to thirty degrees. Once upon the summit 
of the bluff the traveler sees stretching before him 
what we term the upland prairies, a succession of 
rolls similar to those upon the second bottom, but 
with mu.h longer slopes forming a series of earthy 
billows. Their crests or summits are from a quarter 
of a mile to a mile apart, and perhaps twenty to 
eighty feet above the intervening depression or 
miniature valley. Down many of these little valleys 
flow rills of clear water, frequently making a narrow 
guUey as they break through the bluffs and near the 
streams to which they are tributary. 

These rills, which sometimes attain the dignity and 



SURFACE AND SCENERY. 15 

names of creeks are, in Eastern Kansas, usually 
fringed with timber as they approach the main 
stream. On the upper front of the bluffs, ledges fre- 
quently crop out in bold parapets a few feet high, and 
along the crests of the large prairie rolls these ledges 
wind like ribbons around the irregular face. 

There is no portion of the State which is flat and 
and monotonous, or cut up by disagreeable and in- 
convenient gullies and ravines. The western half 
of the State is not so much diversified in its scenery, 
but it has everywhere a rolling and varied surface. 

No other such scene is to be found in the United 
States as presents itself to the traveler who stands 
upon one of the higher Kansas bluffs. The patient 
reader, wearied by the formal description we have 
given of the surface of the country, must now give 
scope to his imagination else he will not see Kansas 
as it is. Nature, ever symmetrical in her combina^ 
tions, is irregular in all her details, and nowhere is 
this better shown than in the picture we are contem- 
plating. The prairie rolls vary in direction and size 
nearly as much as the streams and bluffs, and in 
some localities they are short and comparatively 
sharp, while in a mile or two they so broaden their 
extent and lower their surfaces as to appear nearly 
level to one from a mountainous region. No two 
streams or bottoms or bluffs or prairies are alike in 
all this beautiful country. Here is a broad valley 
miles in extent, and embracing in itself and its sur- 
roundings many of the features we have so imper- 
fectly detailed. The bluffs advance and recede at 
capricious pleasure: on one side of the stream push- 
ing their promontory fronts like the parapets of 
some vast fortification full into the low lands, or not 
far away closing nearly together upon either side of 
the stream, or again with gentle descent approach 
their grass clad slopes till their harmonious shades 
mingle with the rich verdure of the forests below. 




i!i^!ii:iiliilliiiiii!ilii!iiiliilllliiiliili^ 



SURFACE AND SCENERY. 17 

Elsewhere, lowlands, bluff and prairie so impercepti- 
bly blend their various characteristics that the fea- 
tures of none can be accurately traced, while here 
and there the eye rests upon an isolated mound of a 
few acres in extent, which rises to the level of the 
high prairies beyond.. These views combine the 
qualities of grandeur in their vast extent and of the 
picturesque in their loveliness of detail to such a 
degree that the poet preacher, Eev. Eobert Pierpont, 
upon his visit to Kansas exclaimed : " God doubtless 
might have made a lovelier country, but it is certain 
that he never did it." 

The landscape, even of the unsettled portions of 
Kansas carries with it an impression that this is not 
really a new country, but an old one long since 
deserted of its inhabitants. Concerning this feature, 
which immediately strikes all observant travelers, 
Bayard Taylor remarks: "The counterpart of this 
region is not to be found in the United States, yet 
there was a suggestion of other landscapes in it 
which puzzled me considerably until I happened to 
recall some parts of France, especially the valleys 
in the neighborhood of Epernay. Here too, there 
was rather an air of old culture than of new settle- 
ment, only the houses, gardens and orchards were 
wanting." 

Upon the surface of hill and dale which we have 
described place the artificial groves and hedges, which 
four or five years suffice to perfect, place here the 
flocks and herds and growing crops, and you have a 
scene of pastoral beauty which few countries can 
equal. Such views are now to be found in the older 
portions of the State and will in a few years be com- 
mon throughout its extent. 



1* 



18 Hutchinson's Kansas. 

SOIL. ^ 

The soil of Kansas is similar to that of other 
prairie States. Indeed, this State having been largely 
settled by Illinoisians, its agricultural resources have 
always been estimated in comparison with that 
State — confessedly the Garden State of all the world. 

Those of us who have lived in both States and cul- 
tivated land in both States, do not object to even 
this high standard of comparison, and it may be said 
then, that Kansas soil is as deep as Illinois soil. This 
opinion is the result of examination with my pocket 
rule in hundreds of places in both States. Owing to 
the rolling surface, its drainage is incomparably bet- 
ter, and it will consequently endure the extremes of 
dryness or moisture much better than Illinois soil. 
It does not "heave " as much by the action of frosts, 
and is superior in this, as well as in other respects, 
for winter wheat. 

The vicissitudes of agriculture which are incident 
to every new country, have severely tried the rep- 
utation of this soil for productiveness. Add to this 
the exceptional occurrence of a dry season, which 
found a people who were poor when they came to 
Kansas, now stripped of every resource by the long 
continued Border war, and it is surprising that the 
State has obtained so remarkable a reputation for its 
productiveness. 

But since the settlers learned that men must work 
for a living here as well as elsewhere, and plow 
and plant in season, and attend their crops as they 
would attend them in other States, Kansas has made 
returns that place her in the very front rank as an 
agricultural State. Formerly men thought that corn 
needed little or no cultivation here, and were quite 
indifferent as to the time of putting in crops. With 
proper cultivation the results satisfy the most incred- 



SOIL. 



19 



ulous, as may be seen by the following comparative 
table of products. 



T^A^BLE 



Showing average yield in bushels per acre in fifteen 
of the most productive States, copied from the 
Eeports of the United States Agricultural Depart- 
ment, Fractions are omitted. 

Eeport for 1870 not yet published. 



PRODUCTS. 



Report for 1865 

Indian Corn 

Wheat 

Rye 

Oats 

Barley 

Potatoes 

Report for 1866 
Indian Corn- ... 

Whevt 

Rye 

Oats 

Barley 

Potatoes 

Report for 1867 

Indian Corn 

Wheat 

Rye 

Oats 

Barley 

Potatoes 

Report for 1868 

Indian Corn 

Wheat 

Rye 

Oats 

Barley 

Potatoes 

Report for 1869 

Indian Corn 

Wheat 

Rye 

Oats 

Barley 

Potatoes 





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20 



HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 



The bottom lands are usually considered most val- 
uable, but they do not invariably produce the best 
crops. In a wet season the uplands are most pro- 
ductive. The soil on the bottoms is from two to 
ten feet deep, and on the uplands, from one to three 




JOHN BROWN'S CABIN. 

The above cut is from a photagraph taken for this book by Barker, photographic 
artist, of Ottawa, Kansas, who has copies for sale. It is a view of the only building 
now standing in which John Brown, the Abolitionist, ever lived in Kansas. No less 
than six of those who fell at Harper's Ferry upon the occasion of Brown's raid into 
Virginia, had eaten and slept in this cabin. The figure with uncovered head is the 
venerable James Hanway, and the other Mr. Wasson, who were neighbors, com- 
panions and friends of Captain Brown. The former at one time lived in this cabin, 
when it was that Old John Brown wrote his famous " Parallels" under its roof, (ftiee 
Kedpath's "Life of Brown," page 218.) 

Through the doorway, and against the open space made by the falling of the 
huge old fashioned chimney, may be seen the ends of ox-bows suspended to dry. 
These tell the story of " the piping times of peace" which have come since the days 
when John Brown threw himself into the laws of death to rescue an oppressed 
people. The cabin, now rapidly falling to decay, stands in Franklin county, about 
two miles from Lane post-office. 



SOIL. 21 

feet deep. In the eastern half of the State, it is a 
black, sandy loam, intermixed with vegetable mold, 
and the soil of the entire State has in its composi- 
tion what is lacking in many prairie soils, an abun- 
dant supply of mineral constituents. It is for. this 
reason that many practical men who are familiar 
with the entire west believe that Kansas soil will 
prove to be permanently rich, when other soils now 
very productive will be exhausted. 

Lime is everywhere abundant in this soil, and 
gypsum or land plaster is found over a very large 
extent in the central and western portion of the 
State, intermingled largely with the soil, as well as 
existing in ledges^ ready to be used as a fertilizer at 
a trifling cost. 

Under date of March 31, 1871, Professor Wm. H. 
Saunders, M. D. of the State University, furnishes 
me with the following analysis of average prairie 
soil, the specimen being taken at the depth of seven 
inches below the surface : 

Organic matter ------ 11. C5 

Silica 69.83 

Alumina - - - - - - - - 8.66 

Sesqui oxide of iron -".--. 2.05 

Potassa - 1.05 

Soda - - a trace 

Lime - 3.28 

Magnesia 2.00 

Chlorine 0.00 

Sulphuric acid a trace 

Phosphoric acid 2.08 



100.00 

The Professor says: 

" From the above it will be seen that we have a 
a soil rich in all the chemical elements necessary 
for the vigorous growth of vegetation, and thor- 



22 " HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

ough, intelligent cultivation will certainly bring the 
mo8t gratifying reward." 

There are to be found, occasionally, small isolated 
tracts, where a stiff sub-soil comes near the surface^ 
and which at first only produces light crops, but 
greatly improves by cultivation. The common grass 
of the prairies is of tender, rapid growing varieties, 
covering the earth like a mat, but the grass growing 
on these " patches" is short, wiry and scattering. 
It is called " buffalo grass," but is distinct and totally 
different from the nutritious grass with its long 
curled leaf, which covers the western half of Kansas, 
and upon which vast buffalo herds feed and fatten. 

Not one acre in a thousand in Kansas is of the 
objectionable " buffalo land" character described 
above, and even this land with deep plowing (it is 
very heavy plowing the first time), or by the appli- 
cation of a little manure to give it " life" — eight or 
ten loads per acre — produces excellent crops of all 
kinds. Lime is also beneficial to such soils. It is 
confessedly capital wheat land. There is rarely 
more than one to ten acres of it in a body, and some- 
times a few square feet only. It is not found on one 
farm. in ten in the State, but settlers who, in the 
early history of the State, happened to cultivate a 
patch of it, at once jumped to the conclusion that 
Kansas was a barren region. This land is some- 
times improperly called "alkali land." The unerr- 
ing certainty with which it is detected by the grass, 
and the insignificant amount of it in the country, 
almost makes it inexcusable to devote so much space 
to the subject; but I desire to state the facts about 
Kansas, whether favorable or unfavorable, so that 
strangers need not be deceived when purchasing 
land. 

After the above went to press, I learned that Prof. 
W. H. Saunders had made an analysis of this soil, 
and upon application for his opinion of its qualities 



SOIL. 23 

I received the following letter, under date of April 
6th, 1871 : 

"I have the following replj^ to make in answer to 
your letter of inquiry respecting the nature of 
' alkali spots' on ' buffalo wallows.' Any one can 
easily detect them in cultivated ground by the color, 
which is much lighter than the surrounding soil, 
especially after a spell of dry weather, when a white, 
efflorescent powder forms on the surface of these 
spots. 

"The composition of the soil, which is an exceed- 
ingly tough and compact clay, is chiefly silicate of 
alumina, containing a little organic matter, a little 
sesquioxide of iron, and occasionally a little lime. 
This soil has become strongly impregnated with 
sulphate of magnesia, (epsom-salt,) which is the 
white powder seen on the surface. This salt in 
small quantity, is valuable as a fertilizer, but when 
in excess is very destructive to vegetation, hence the 
barren nature of these spots. 

" Of more practical interest, however, is the ques- 
tion : what can be done to render these spots fertile? 
This, fortunately, admits of easy solution. After 
the soil is well loosend, a top-dressing of quick-lime, 
applied just before a rain, will decompose the sul- 
phate of magnesia, and form sulphate of lime, (gyp- 
sum,) a valuable fertilizer, while the magnesia will 
soon absorb carbonic acid and be converted into car- 
bonate of magnesia, which being insoluble in water, 
will be much less injurious to vegetation. Lime 
should not be thus applied when a crop is on the 
ground, for the caustic action of the lime and mag- 
nesia would destroy it. This method is liable to the 
objection that it simply converts the noxious agent 
into a less injurious form, but does not assist in 
removing it from the soil. 

"A much more effectual and better way is simply 
to thoroughly pulverize the soil as deeply as possible 



24 Hutchinson's Kansas. 

at least once a year. The magnesian salt, being 
very soluble in water, will be leached out by the 
rains, and the soil thus permanently freed from its 
presence ; fertilizers then applied will render the 
soil productive. The experience of those who have 
tried this method confirms me in the belief that it is 
the best way to treat this soil. The popular notion, 
that these spots contain an alkali and that the soil 
has been rendered hard by the wallowing of the 
buffalo, is erroneous. The soil contains no alkali, 
and its hardness is owing to its chemical composi- 
tion, but the buffalo have discovered the salt taste of 
the soil impregnated with the sulphate of magnesia, 
and, by long repeated licking and tramping, have 
worn considerable depressions in j^laces, which dur- 
ing the wet season are filled with water." 

Occasionally sandstone soil is found in tracts of a 
few square miles. This is confessedly the best fruit 
land in the State, and is highly regarded by many 
persons for purposes of cultivation, owing to the fact 
that it is ready for spring work sooner than lime- 
stone soil, and can be more readily cultivated during 
a wet time. Many of the limestone ledges lie higher 
than the sandstone formation, and it is probably 
from this cause that there is a good deal of lime to 
be found even in sand stone soils, but if this is lack- 
ing it may be cheaply supplied, because lime is every- 
where present, either in the form of limestone (lime 
and carbonic acid), or gypsum (lime and sulphuric 
acid). 

There is less waste land in Kansas than in almost 
any other State in the Union. In fact there is really 
no waste land at all, because there are neither 
swamps nor sloughs, and the entire State can be cul- 
tivated, excepting those portions covered with timber 
or where rock prevails. 

The latter feature is fully described elsewhere, 
«and it will be seen that the rock of Kansas is of 



SOIL. 



25 



immense value to the State. It is only necessary to 
say here that there is probably not one acre in five 
hundred in the State where rock is so exposed as to 
make cultivation impossible, and even this is not 
waste land, for it affords excellent pasturage with a 
plenty of springs and running water. 

Bayard Taylor says: "I consider the country 
within one hundred and fifty miles of the Missouri 
Eiver in Kansas, to be the finest unbroken tract of 
farming land in the world." 




HUMBOLDT BRIDGE. 

The above is a King's Wrought Iron Bridge of 190 span. It cost about $13,000. 

The soil of the western half of Kansas is very 
different in appearance from that of the eastern 
half of the State. While the latter is black, the 
former is usually light colored, or reddish toward 
the southwestern part of the State, excepting upon 
the larger river bottoms, but the soil of western 
Kansas is the deepest, running from two to ten feet. 
Perhaps upon no point is there a greater lack of 
knowledge concerning Kansas, even by some citi- 
2 



26 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

zens of the State, than in relation to this western 
Kansas soil. This soil has mingled with it very 
little vegetable mold or humus — that deposit of 
decayed vegetable matter which gives to the soil of 
eastern Kansas its dark color. 

The attentive observer will notice a perceptible 
difference in this respect however, even at the 
extreme western State line, between the surface and 
the soil two feet below. In some localities, espe- 
cially on bottom lands, the surface is quite dark, 
and gradually grows lighter as you penetrate the 
earth. 

This is called by geologists, " The Bluff Forma- 
tion," so named by Professor Swallow, because it 
forms a large proportion of the bluffs which are so 
conspicuous and unique in the scenery about Council 
Bluffs, Iowa, and in general all along the Missouri 
River bluffs above the mouth of the Kansas River. 
This formation occupies the surface of a consider- 
able portion of western Iowa, extending east in the 
north part of the State a distance of forty or fifty 
miles. Its eastern limit seems to run in a south- 
westerly direction, and it forms the surface of nearly 
all the State of Nebraska, and of the western half 
of Kansas. It also underlies a good portion of east- 
ern Kansas, but is here largely affected by the char- 
acter of the subjacent rocks. This accounts for the 
fact, which has often been remarked with wonder, 
that the sub-soil in many places upon being thrown 
to the surface, and exposed to the action of the air 
and frost, produces as good crops as the surface soil. 

Its analysis by the Missouri State Survey, gives, 
when dried at 212° Fahr., 77 per cent impalpable 
sand ; 11 per cent alumina (clay); 3i per cent, lime; 
5 J per cent pottassa, magnesia and carbonic acid, 
and about 3t per cent of water and loss. This 
analysis proves its agricultural value; but that point 
is sufficiently demonstrated by long experience. 



SOIL. 27 

The best of crops grow upon this soil in Iowa and 
Nebraska, as I can personally testify. Its sand is 
so fine that no grit is perceptible to the touch, and 
those who cultivate it in Iowa, cull it a fine light 
clay, but it has none of the phj'sical characteristics 
of a stiff claj' soil. It never bakes, is ready for cul- 
tivation in a few hours after a rain, and with deep 
jplovjing \vill keep crops in a thriving condition with 
very little rain. 

As the reader well knows, it is not essential that 
a soil be black in order that it be productive. With 
the single exception of corn, as good crops are 
raised upon much of the red land of Virginia and 
Tennessee as is ever grown upon the blackest soils 
of Illinois or Kansas, and deep plowing is all that 
this red land needs for Indian corn. 

Having seen the luxuriant crops that are grown 
in northwestern Iowa about Sioux City, upon the 
light colored soil which we have described, as well 
as the heavy crops upon newly cleared red lands of 
Virginia and Tennessee, I have learned not to con- 
demn land until it is tried, whether its color be black, 
white or red. 

In Kansas this soil has not been largely culti- 
vated, (although it is held in high esteem by those 
western settlers who have tilled it,) because there are 
at least twenty million acres of rich black soil unoc- 
cupied in the State. But no man appreciates Kansas 
as he ought, until he realizes that it not only ranks 
pre-eminent as a grain producing and blue grass 
State, but that within its limits and within one or 
two days drive of its rich farms, are to be found the 
finest of pasture fields now open and easily accessi- 
ble to the public. Here is free grazing upon the 
bufi^alo grass and winter grasses which grow on the 
rich soil we have just described. Not only this but 
with deep plowing^ and deep and early drilling of the 
seed, this is to be the great winter wheat storehouse 



28 

of the nation. It is not too far north or south ; its 
altitude gives it a superb harvesting season, while 
there is rain enough for growing the crop during the 
cool season, The admixture of lime and gypsum, 
with all this soil, is a matter of the utmost moment. 
That gypsum is almost universal, admits of little 
doubt, for it is seen in ledges in many j^laces^ and 
it is found crystalized in the form of thin semi-trans- 
parent sheets, wherever geologists have explored 
western Kansas. The blue-stem, a tall variety of 
prairie grass, chiefly used for hay in eastern Kansas, 
and which only grows on rich corn land, is rapidly 
extending westward upon this soil, and taking the 
place of buffalo grass. 

Finally, the bottom lands of the Kansas and 
Arkansas Elvers, are largely made up of the wash of 
these western regions, and there is no better soil in 
the world than these valleys afford. 

CLIMATE. 

Many flowing sentences and well rounded periods 
have been framed in the endeavor to describe the 
climate of Kansas. It has been called "Arcadia," 
but more frequently travelers who have been around 
the globe, and enraptured citizens who write to 
their friends in the East, call it an " Italian clime." 
In truth, it is neither Arcadia nor Italy — at least it is 
7iot one unbroken round of golden days and halcyon 
nights, but it is quite certain that there is no region 
in the United States, east of the Eocky Mountains, 
where there is more bright, sunshiny days than we 
have in Kansas. The winters are more mild than in 
the same latitude east of us, and the thermometer 
rarely sinks below zero. During midsummer the 
heat at noonday sometimes ranges for several days 
from 80 to 100 degrees, but the air is so dry and 
pure that one scarcely realizes the range of the mer- 



CLIMATE. 29 

cury, while the nights are invariably cool and re- 
freshing. Men work on buildings and in other ex- 
jDOsed situations, with safety, at a temperature which 
would be fatal in the eastern States. 

The soil is so fruitful that farmers never feel 
obliged to expose themselves to severe weather, sum- 
mer or 'vinter. Especially is our climate held in 
high esteem by those who escape to it from the ex- 
tremes of northern frigidity, or from the torrid heats 
of southern latitudes. 

It must not be forgotten that Kansas is a State of 
great extent and of various climate. Sometimes 
there are two or three inches of snow in the north- 
eastern part of the State, l^hich lays on the ground 
three or four days, and at the same time there will 
be no snow at all on the southern border of the 
State; at other times a light fall of snow may cover 
the State for a week, but there is no preparation 
made for sleighing, because there is rarely more than 
one such snow during a winter. Ice usually forms 
in December or January from four to eight inches in 
thickness, but rarely thicker than six inches, and 
two or three winters have occurred when no ice 
formed thick enough to store in ice houses. Farmers 
can plow during ten months of nearly every year in 
this State, and some years every month. I have 
seen masons laying stone and mortar during every 
month of the year, although not in every month in 
any one year, perhaps, because after building has 
generally ceased, and the hands are discharged and 
tools scattered, it is not customary to commence 
again until spring opens, which here occurs in Feb- 
ruary. 

Still there are cold days here and people ought 
to come prepared for them ; but there are also bitter 
cold daj^s in Tennessee or Texas, and taking our av- 
erage climate, it is mild and agreeable. Whenever, 
as during the past winter, it is very cold here, the 



80 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

telegraph always announces that it is colder in the 
same latitude east, and much colder north of us. 
During the past winter, 1870-71, we had three con- 
siderable snow storms; the first six inches deep, of 
light snow, and each of the others about three inches 
deep. This was accompanied by almost continuous 
cold weather, sufficiently so to keep the ground cov- 
ered with snow for four or five weeks. It has been, 
by far, the severest winter I ever experienced in the 
State, and it is the universal testimony of the "relia- 
ble old settlers " that the snow never before laid on 
the ground so long. 

The extraordinary clearness of the atmosphere 
strikes all strangers as worthy of mention. Non- 
residents can form no C(feception of this peculiarity 
of our climate, but one may here distinguish objects 
at a long distance, which could hardly be seen at all, 
if the same distance away in the east. The vision is 
thereby strengthened, and man's natural powers 
increased, giving greater zest to the pleasure with 
which one rides across our prairie swells. 

The most disagreeable feature of our climate is the 
wind, but none complain of the cool breezes which 
healthfully agitate the atmosphere during the sum- 
mer months. Besides, all prairie regions are subject 
to more winds than timbered countries. The winds 
are no more severe here than in other prairie States, 
and the groves and hedges, which may be speedily 
growUj will abate their force and break up their 
currents. 

One of the greatest blessings of our Kansas cli- 
mate, is the cool nights which invariably follow 
even the hottest days. These nights are so well 
described by the Lawrence Daily Journal, that I 
quote as follows : 

" The cool nights of Kansas refresh and invigo- 
rate everj'thing. No sooner does old Sol conclude 
to bathe his burning forehead in the sea of night, 



CLIMATE. 



31 



than the whole atmosphere changes and everything 
is lovel}^. 

" We recall with a twinge of agony, terrific sum- 
mer nights spent in the northeastern States, when 
the thermometer indicated the same degree of heat 
at twelve midnight as at twelve noon, but nothing 
could be more agreeable than our Kansas climate in 
this respect. However hot the day, the night is 




ADAMS HOUSE, MANHATTAN. 

cool and bracing. A day in which a man is re- 
minded of Sydney Smith's desire to 'get out of his 
flesh and sit down in his bones,' is followed by a 
night in which long before daybreak a fellow finds 
himself feeling sleepily around the foot of his bed 



32 



HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 



for his blanket. After such a night one arises 
refreshed for the labors, and fortified against the heat 
of another day." 

As the records of scientitic observations are the 
true criterion by which to judge of any climate, I 
solicited from Prof F; H. Snow, the following tables, 
for which I am under special obligations to him, as 
well as for other records which are presented else- 
where : . 

Compiled b}^ Prof Frank H. Snow, of Kansas State 
University at Lawrence. 



Table of Mean Temperature of twenty States for 
five years, from January 1st, 1865, to January 1st, 
1870, compiled from Eeports of the Department 
of Agriculture: 



STATES. 



Kansas 

Maine 

New Hampshire 

Vermont 

Massachusetts 

Connecticut 

New York 

New Jersey 

Pennsylvania 

Maryland 

Kentucky 

Ohio 

Michigaa 

Indiana 

Illinois 

Wisconsin 

Minnesota 

Iowa 

Missouri 

Nebraska 

Mean for 20 States 



SPRING. 


SUMMER 


AUTUMN. 


WINTER. 


52.2 


75.5 


54.3 


■ 
29.1 


40.7 


66.4 


46.6 


19.8 


41.7 


66.7 


46.6 


20.4 


40.4 


66.1 


45.6 


18.4 


45.0 


68.6 


49.7 


25.5 


45.0 


69.1 


50.4 


25.8 


43.9 


69.7 


50.0 


24.9 


49.8 


72.3 


543 


30 3 


47.3 


71.7 


52.0 


28.1 


51.7 


74.2 


55.6 


32.4 


54.4 


74.5 


55.7 


35.2 


49.4 


72.6 


52.7 


29.1 


42 4 


67.8 


49.1 


24.2 


50.4 


74.2 


53.2 


29.7 


47.6 


72.9 


52.0 


25.8 


41.8 


68.6 


47.8 


20.5 


39.4 


67.8 


45.3 


14.0 


44.5 


71.2 


48.9 


20.3 


52.5 


75.5 


;55.0 


30.7 


45.9 


73.4 


51.0 


22.9 


46 3 


70-9 


o>.8 


25 4 



52.8 
43.4 
43.8 
42.7 
47.2 
47.6 
47.1 
51.7 
49.7 
53.5 
54.9 
50.9 
45.9 
51.9 
49.6 
44.7 
41.6 
46.2 
53.4 
48.4 



CLIMATE. 33 

Meteorological Summary for 1870 hy Prof. Snow. 

The following table gives the mean temperature, 
the extremes of temperature, and the rainfall for 
each month of the year 1870: 

MONTHS. 



January... 
February.. 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August 

September 
October .... 
November 
December., 

Year 1870.. 
Year 1869.. 
Year 1868.. 



MEAN. 


MAXIMUM. 


MINIMUM. 


29.43 


56.5 


—1.0 


35 42 


69.0 


—4.0 


37.69 


71.0 


1 


56 84 


91.0 


19.0 


68.00 


90.0 


44.0 


73.71 


102.0 


44.0 


80.27 


99.0 


55.0 


73.54 


98.0 


53.0 


67.88 


88.5 


53.9 


56.50 


79.0 


29.0 


44.92 


72.0 


17.0 


28.70 


64.0 


—10.0 


54.50 


102.0 


—10 


50.36 


96.0 


—5.0 


53.36 


1010 


—16.5 



0.67 
O.03 
1.86 
l.<i8 
2.46 
1.83 
6.58 

2.82 
6.96 
0.57 
0.72 



31.32 
38.51 

37.48 



Face of the Sky, 

"Mean cloudiness of the year, 47.94 per cent, of the 
sky. Mean at 7 A. M., 50.67 per cent.; at 2 p. m., 
52.94 per cent.; at 9 p. m., 40.21 per cent. In the 
morning and at midday the sky was less cloudy than 
in 1869, but cloudier at night." 

"The number of clear days was 152, counting as 
clear those days on which less than one-third of the 
sky was covered with clouds; half-clear days 93, in- 
cluding under this designation those days on which 
between one-third and two-thirds of the sky was 
covered ; cloudy days, 120, when two-thirds or more 
was covered. The clearest month was July, mean 
cloudiness 30.64 per cent.; the cloudiest month was 
September, mean cloudiness, 68.66 per cent." 



34 Hutchinson's kansas; 

Barometer, 

Mean hight of barometer, 29.097 inches, being 
0.006 less than in 1869. The mean hight for the 
two years, 1869 and 1870, was 29.100. Upon this 
basis, the hight of the instrument above the level of 
the sea is 884 feet. 

Mean hight at 7 A. M., 29.121 inches; at 2 p. m.^ 
29.074 inches; at 9 p. m., 29.096 inches. Maximum 
hight, 29.764 inches, at 7 A. m., January 8; minimum, 
28.191 inches, at 12:45 p. m., January 16, giving a 
range of 1.573 inches for the year. The highest 
monthly mean was in December, 29.192 inches; the 
lowest in May, 29.005 inches. All the barometer 
observations were reduced to the freezing point. 

Eelative JECumidity. 

Mean for the year, 68.4. Mean at 7 A. M., 80.4.; 
at 2 p. M., 49.9 ; at 9 p. m., 74.8. Air saturated with 
moisture, 48 times; number of fogs, 13. The driest 
month was April, relative humidity 54.7 ; the damp- 
est month was September, relative humidity 82.8. 
The air was driest at 2 p. m., February 18th, when 
the relative humidity was only 2, this remarkable 
condition of the atmosphere being followed by a sud- 
den change of temperature within twenty four hours." 

Force of Vapor. 

Mean for the year, 0.344 inches ; mean at 7 a. m., 
0.337 ; at 2 p. m., 0.342; at 9 p. m., 0.352; greatest, 0.863, 
at 2. p. M., July 10; least, 0.008, at 2 p. m., February 18. 

Frosts. 

^' An important fact in regard to the long period of 
entire absence of frost, ought, perhaps, to be men- 



RAINFALL AND CHANGE OF CLIMATE. 35 

tioned. There was no frost in 1868, from April 10 
to September 17 — one hundred and sixty days ; in 
1869, from April 13 to September 26 — one hundred 
and sixty-six days; in 1870, from April 18 to October 
12 — one hundred and seventy-seven days. The in- 
terval between the latest and earliest severe frosts 
would be considerably longer — one hundred and 
Dinety-seven days in 1870." 

RAINFALL AND CHANGE OF CLIMATE. 

One of the most interesting facts in relation to the 
settlement of this country, and yet one of the most 
difficult to illustrate and explain, is the change of 
seasons which is here taking place. I do not allude 
especially to the increased rainfall which is evident 
in all the region west of the Missouri, wherever 
there are settlements and railroads, because the me- 
teorogic'al records show that the mean annual pre- 
cipitation of moisture in Eastern Kansas, has always 
been sufficient for agricultural purposes, if we except 
the single year of 1860. Being desirous of knowing 
whether such a drouth might be expected to occur 
again, I took occasion, when visiting Washington on 
the succeeding winter, to examine the records at the 
Smithsonian Institute, having the aid of one of the 
assistant officers of the Institution, and found that 
the rainfall was as great during the seventeen years 
preceding 1860, at Fort Leavenworth and Fort Scott, 
Kansas, as in Illinois or Missouri. 

From the many tables which have been since pub- 
lished, and from those elsewhere given in this book, 
it is evident that the mean annual rainfall of Kansas 
has always been quite sufficient. But it is a fact 
patent to all "old settlers" that we have more 
showers than formerly, more rainy, drizzly days, 
more occasions when one can carry an umbrella in a 
rainstorm. The word "storm," which is almost 










m 



RAINFALL AND CHANGE OF CLIMATE. 37 

invariably applied to a rain in this country, shows 
the character of those events. Ten or fifteen years 
ago few people kept umbrellas in Kansas, because 
^' when it rained it poured," and the wind blew with 
such force that an umbrella could hardly be carried: 
The rains were indeed storms, severe but short, a 
heavy fall of rain occuring in a few hours. It is not 
only my experience, but the universal testimony of 
all who have been here ten or more years, that the 
rain storms are less severe, and the rainy days more 
frequent, than of old. I have endeavored to collect 
statistics upon this point; but not many observations 
are recorded as to the number of rainy days. 

Prof F. H. Snow writes me under date of January 
16, 1871: 

"My records at this place cover only three years. 
From these it appears that rain fell in 1868, on 64 
days; in 1869, on 92 days; in 1870, on 97 days. In 
the absence of positive proof from records, it certainly 
would be legitimate to cite the testimony of many 
of our "old settlers" to the fact that the rain fall is 
more evenly distributed now than ten years ago, 
coming at shorter intervals and more gently, and 
that single storms, or showers, extend over more 
hours than formerly. This belief I have often heard 
expressed by our most intelligent citizens.'* 

It is not a new or startling theory to claim that a 
change of seasons is taking place in Kansas. Cali- 
fornia is a marked illustration of the changes in cli- 
mate, which succeed settlement. Especially is this 
shown also in the vicinity of Salt Lake, Utah. 

Here is a region once comparatively destitute of 
rain, but where now almost enough falls to supply 
the growing crops. Great Salt Lake, which is more 
than one hundred miles long and forty or fifty miles 
wide, is said to have risen twelve feet since the Mor- 
mons commenced the settlements, and the water has 
a smaller proportion of salt. 



38 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

Illustrations of the ill effects to climate, resulting 
from clearing away the forests of timbered regions, 
are too well known to call for recital. But without 
taking the reader to Europe and Asia, where the 
most disastrous consequences have occurred, these 
effects may be traced in all the older northern States. 
During the year 1870 a drouth of alarming severity 
occurred in New England, which is ascribed, as have 
been many lesser drouths of the last quarter of a 
century, to clearing off nearly all the timbered land. 

The effect of railroads and telegraphs, is undoubt- 
edly to cause more frequent showers, perhaps by 
promoting a more even distribution of the magnetic 
forces. From some cause it is certain that thunder 
storms are less severe than formerly, in Kansas. 

A. D. Eichardson, after returning from his last 
trip across the continent, informed me he was con- 
vinced that railroads and telegraphs do have an effect 
upon the climate and cause an increased and more 
frequent rainfall. It is quite well understood also 
that trees and hedges, in various ways tend to in- 
crease the fall of rain, and the planting of these ob- 
jects is the cause usually indicated for our change of 
seasons. 

But I think the main cause remains to be stated. 
When rain strikes upon the compact surface of our 
rolling prairies, it almost immediately runs off, very 
little settling into the ground. Having no ponds or 
swamps in the State, and our streams all being rapid, 
the rain soon runs away. But with the settlement of 
the country, every piece of cultivated land becomes a 
reservoir, or cistern, wherein is collected and retained 
for a considerable time, most of the water which 
falls upon its surface and sinks into the mellow soil. 
A portion of this rainfall gradually finds its way to 
the surface in lower places, causing living springs to 
appear where before there was no sign of water, 
while another portion of the rainfall caught in the 



RAINFALL AND CHANGE OF CLIMATE. 39 

plowed land evaporates from the field. Thus the 
atmosphere is charged, to a degree, with moisture, 
and a very little addition in this respect is often suf- 
ficient to produce rain. Sometimes we say '' it almost 
rains," yet there is lacking in the atmosphere a very 
few degrees of humidity, and in consequence of this 
lack no rain falls. It is plain that at such times, the 
slight change in the atmospheric conditions caused 
by the evaporation of water retained upon tilled 
land would cause rain. In this State the entire pro- 
cess of subjugating the country is precisely opposite 
to that which takes place in a timbered country. In 
the latter case the trees which, with their foliage, 
protected the ground from the direct rays of the 
sun, are cut down. The logs and sticks and withered 
leaves are removed, which caught the rain and re- 
tained it in little pools or bogs. Fallen trees are 
cleared out of the streams, and in every way the 
water is given free course and more rapidly finds its 
way to the sea. On the other hand, in settling a 
prairie country more water is retained, as already ex- 
plained, and the ground is shaded during summer 
months by growing crops, while newly planted trees 
and hedges add their influence to the causes which 
produce a climate continually growing more humid. 
Upon the contrary the climate of a timbered country 
continually grows less humid as the country is cleared 
of timber, and the springs and streams dry up. 

There are in Kansas to-day thousands of springs 
where there were no springs a few years ago, and 
other thousands of springs which formerly were dry 
in the summer, now flow continually. It is lor this rea- 
son, in part, that there is now so much greater value 
attached to the water power of the State than there 
was a dozen years ago, as the streams are continually 
increasing in power and regularity. This process will 
go on, and all one has to do to induce springs upon, 
his land is to break up and cultivate his soil. 



40 



HUTCHINSON S KANSAS. 



In the western portion of the State especially, and 
generally in all the country called " The Plains," the 
ascent towards the Eocky Mountains is very rapid, 
and the falling rain runs off almost immediately. 
The rise in the western half of the State and in 
Colorado is ten to fifteen feet per mile. Consider 
that the fall of the Missouri river, one of the most 
rapid of large rivers, is less than one foot per mile, 
and it will be seen that the streams upon the plains 
must be very rapid, while the entire face of the 
country is also considerably undulating, carrying off 
the rain from the compact surface with extraor- 
dinary rapidity. Add to this influence the increased 
rapidity of evaporation arising from the increased 
altitude, and we discern at once one of the causes 
why "The Plains" are not covered with a deep 
layer of vegetable mold like Eastern Kansas. 
Table showing the average rainfall of Kansas, in 

comparison with that of other States, for the five 

years from January 1, 1865, to January 1, 1870. 

By Prof. F. H. Snow : 



STATES. 



Kansas 

Maine 

New Hampshire 

Vermont 

Massachusetts 

Connecticut 

New York.: 

New Jersey 

Pennsylvania 

Maryland 

Kentucky 

Ohio 

Michigan 

Indiaua 

Illinois 

Wisconsin 

Minnesota 

Io\\a 

Missouri 

Nebraska 

Average rainfall in 20 
States for 5 years. 



10, 
13.74 
10.40 
10.31 
13.46 
13.01 
11.16 
13.18 
12.04 
13.67 
15.18 
12.34 
8.32 
14.35 
11.53 
8.92 
6.09 
10.57 
12.67 



11.52 



18.06 
10.55 
10.49 
10.44 
11.17 
13.34 
11.19 
13.88 
12.46 
13.95 
13.77 
11.73 
9.90 
12.84 
12.07 
13.23 
13.39 
16.72 
13.34 
12.56 



12.75 



y./y 
13.33 
1266 
11.82 
11.72 
13.11 
12.41 
12 53 
11.17 
12.39 
9.88 
9.80 
ll.fK) 
10.32 
8.14 
8.16 
8.42 
8.86 
9.29 
6.25 



10.55 



5.42 
9.99 

7.85 

7.32 

10.20 

10.54 

9.92 

11.39 

10.01 

11.22 

12.50 

8.09 

6.47 

9.27 

6.02 

5.87 



6.42 
5.09 



MARCH 1, 

TO 

OCTOBER 1 



34.15 

28.23 

25.40 

25 01 

28.71 

30.88 

26.85, 

31.81 

29.05 

32.05 

33.92 

29.24 

23.19 

32.94 

27 92 

25.53 

24.43 

32.14 

30.74 

24.93 



44.09 
47.61 
41.40 
39.89 
46.55 
50.00 
44.68 
50.98 
45.68 
51.23 
51.33 
41.96 
35.69 
46.78 
37.76 
36.18 
31.68 
42.53 
41.72 
32.62 



42 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

Concerning this tab^e, Professor Snow writes as 
follows : 

" Twenty States were included in the comparison, 
those States engaged in the rebellion being omitted 
because the returns from them during the years 
1865, '66, '67, were too meager to afford trustworthy 
results. From the comparison it appears that the 
total annual rainfall for Kansas, during the five 
years, was greater than that of the following States ; 
New Hampshire, Yermont, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, 
Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska. 
(10 States out of the 19). I have also calculated the 
amount of rain in each of the twenty States for each 
of the four seasons. The result shows that while 
Kansas has less rain in the winter months than any 
other State on the list, except Nebraska, she has 
more rain in the remaining nine months than any of 
the other States, except Connecticut, Maryland, New 
Jersey and Kentucky. It also appears that for the 
seven months from the first of March to the first of Octo- 
ber^ when rain is needed for the germination and growth 
of crops, Kansas stands at the head of the list, having 
more rain than any of the nineteen States with which 
the comparison is made." 

Mr. Watts Beckwith, of Olathe, Kansas, who re- 
ports meteorological observations for publication by 
the Agricultural Department at Washington, has 
kindly furnished me with the following table, which 
also illustrates the last statement of Professor Snow, 
given above, and shows the heavy rainfall that takes 
place in Kansas during the growing months of the 
year : 



HEALTH. 



43 



Table showing the rainfall in Kansas during each 
month for six years, from 1865 to 1870 inclusive, 
from recorded observations by Mr. Watts Beck- 
with: 



MONTHS. 



January 

February... 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August 

September . 

October 

November, , 
December.., 



1865 


1866 


1867 


1868 


1869 


2.5 


2.6 





6 


3.9 


4.9 


6 


3.4 


1 




3.6 


2.0 


2.9 


7.7 


1.9 


66 


30 


4.1 


4.9 


5 


7.9 


4.3 


8.4 


4.9 


5.6 


15.8 


10.6 


3. 


5.8 


11.7 


13.7 


9.8 


5.7 


6.7 


177 


13.1 


1.4 


2.2 


16.2 


4.9 


8.1 


16.6 


2. 


5 


5.3 


2.9 


5.6 


2. 


2 


2.3 





3.8 


1.5 




1.7 


1.8 


3.4 


1.3 


3.5 


9 



1870 



7.1 

2.7 
6.5 
7.0 
2.2 
6.1 
5 
5 



Mr. Beckwith also says : 

" I think of late years we also have less thunder 
and lightning, but this I have not recorded as care- 
fully as the amount of rainfall." 

It should be noted that all the records from which 
the foregoing figures of rainfall in Kansas, have been 
collated, were made in the eastern half of Kansas. 
Unquestionably less rain falls in Western Kansas, 
than the tables indicate, but the increase in that por- 
tion of the State is very noticeable. 

HEALTH. 



To write upon this subject so as to be understood, 
we must compare this with other States. Although 
the climate of Eastern Kansas is somewhat less 
bracing and vigorous than that of States farther 
north, it is much more so than the same latitude 
anywhere east of us and west of the Alleghanies, 
and it is conceded that Kansas will eventually be 
reckoned as the most healthful of all western States. 

In northern latitudes it is to be observed that peo- 



44 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

pie usually build close houses, so constructed that no 
fresh aii- can enter. Shutting themselves up in small 
rooms, heated by that modern barbarism, an iron 
stove, or hot air furnace, they hibernate during the 
long winter months. This seems to be a necessity 
of all that damp, inhospitable winter climate, which 
is found north of our latitude and east of the Missis- 
sippi Eiver, but the hydra-headed diseases which 
seize so many victims in those regions are largely 
induced by this housing process. In Kansas people 
live more out of doors. Dwellings may safely be 
constructed with less care to keep out fresh air, and 
during manj^ winter days, doors and windows are 
left wide open. There is no place in the world which 
is best adapted to all persons, but regions like Kan- 
sas, which occupy an admirable mean between the 
extremes of latitude, are best suited to the constitu- 
tion of a majority of mankind. 

It is not true, as many suppose, that Kansas cli- 
mate is uniform in temperature. This cannot be 
truthfully asserted of any portion of the United 
States east of the Eocky Mountains, but the remark- 
able dryness of our dim if e so mollifies the influence 
of the sudden changes to which, in common with 
other States, we are subject, that their effect is much 
less injurious here than elsewhere. The rains of 
Kansas chiefly fall du^^ng the summer months, caus- 
ing the fertile soil to yield a vegetation almost trop- 
ical in its luxuriance, but during the cooler seasons 
we have little rain, and the air is dry and bracing. 
Damp air causes damp clothing, and moisture is a 
good conductor of heat. In the humid atmosphere 
of more eastern States, clothing is at times ineffect- 
ual towards keeping the body warm, and at these 
times sudden changes are fatal to many, and danger- 
ous to all. But in the dry, elastic Kansas atmos- 
phere, w^oolen clothing completely protects the per- 
son, and thus protected, sudden changes are sustained 



HEALTH. 45 

with little danger to health. An atmosphere so pure 
and dry that it will preserve fresh meats in hot 
weather, without salting, must be a healthy and 
invigorating atmosphere. This is the case in the 
extreme western portion of the State. "Jerked 
meat" — la}- ers of lean meat, jerked otf by tearing the 
fibres, and then cured in the sun — keeps through the 
season, and after August, quarters of beef, buffalo. \^en- 
isoQ, etc., suspended a few feet above the ground, 
keep perfectly s^veet. In this atmosphere, Kansas 
offers great advantages to all consumptives, or per- 
sons with asthmatic or bronchial difficulties. In this, 
too, there is great room for choice in location. 

In the three degrees of latitude which Kansas 
occupies, we will find a very considerable difference 
in temperature between the northern and southern 
extremes of the State, but to a greater extent will 
the careful observer note a difference between the 
eastern and western limits of Kansas. This differ- 
ence arises from two causes. It is a well known 
fact that the Eocky Mountain range induces a heavy 
precipitation of moisture upon their western slopes, 
leaving their eastern slopes, and a belt of considera- 
ble width stretching eastward therefrom, and known 
as "the plains," that has but little rain. The wes- 
tern limits of Kansas trench upon this region, and 
the dry air which passes over these plains is vastly 
beneficial to invalids, whether suffering from pulmo- 
nary complaints, or from general debility, indigestion 
or nervous exhaustion. The second cause to which 
I refer is the altitude to which one may attain in 
Kansas. As already shown the State rises gradually 
from its eastern to its western boundar}^, attaining 
an altitude of 3500 feet above the level of the sea. 
The height of the Cumberland Mountain plateau, in 
Tennessee, is only 1000 feet above the miasmatic bot- 
toms of the Tennessee Kiver, which flows at its base, 
and its average altitude above the ocean about 1800 



46 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

feet, which is less than the average altitude of "Wes- 
tern Kansas above the same level. The former is 
famous as a resort for invalids — the latter will be 
more famous whenever its advantages are fully 
known. The entire State is so favorably situated 
in these regards that little attention has been paid 
to the relative claims for healthfulness of its various 
portions. "Burleigh," the well known correspon- 
dent of the Boston Journal, (Matthew Hale Smith), 
write thus under date of November, 1870 : 

'' Before I speak of Topeka, the Capital of Kansas, 
I will mention a few peculiarities of the State. The 
name given to the atmosphere is that of 'cham- 
pagne,' from its exhilarating properties. It is very 
elastic and invigorating. Its effect on diseased, de- 
bilitated and worn out systems, is very remarkable." 

It may be mentioned as illustrative of the peculiar 
properties of the atmosphere of Kansas, that horses 
are never known to contract the "heaves" in this 
State, that disease which is so common and fatal to 
horses in States east of us. 

Kansas also occupies a favorable mean in relation 
to two distinct types of diseases which are found — 
the one in very low miasmatic regions and the other 
in elevated and mountainous localities. Concerning 
the former complaints, they have not extensively 
prevailed in Kansas, excepting in unfavorable situa- 
tions during the early settlement of the country, and 
it is confidently asserted that in no country east of 
us did the early settlers experience less sickness. It 
is a fact also worthy of mention that all localities 
most subject to fever and ague have been settled for 
some years, and this disease is consequently disap- 
pearing with the imjorovement of the country, while 
the newer and more elevated portions of the State 
are not subject to its attacks. 

Concerning the class of rheumatic and acute 
febrile diseases which prevail in all mountainous 



WATER. 47 

regions, Kansas is almost entirely exempt'from them; 
Vendors of '•' liniments and " Poor Man's Plasters,' 
are not advised to come to Kansas. 

WATER. 

The water of springs and wells in this State is 
pure and good. There are small isolated tracts, em- 
bracing two or three farms each, where good, clear 
water is not easily obtained by digging; but the 




LUDINGTON HOUSE, OTTAWA. 

settlers here, like the settlers upon large tracts of 
country in Missouri, Iowa and Illinois, where the 
well water is uniformly turbid and unpalatable to 
the taste, must drink rain water caught in cisterns. 
This is healthful, and by use becomes agreeable. It 
is probable that on some of the high divides between 
streams in the western portion of the State, it may 
not be easy to find water by digging. In fact, the 
Kansas Pacific Eailroad failed to obtain water by 



48 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

digging at two or three of their stations near the 
western State line; but of the many emigrants, 
buffalo hunters and others who have traversed all 
the western portion of the State, none say that they 
have much difficulty in finding water, either flowing 
from springs or by digging a few feet in favorable 
localities. It is a peculiarity of some streams in the 
extreme western portion of the State, that they sud- 
denly sink into quick sands, and appear again a few 
miles below. 

One of the. first things for a settler to do here, as 
in any country, is to provide good pure water. Dig 
a well at once, unless you are near a spring, and do not 
drink surface or creek water. This custom of west- 
ern settlers, I believe to be the cause of more sick- 
ness than any other, or prehaps all other bad habits 
or unnecessary exposures of western life. Of all the 
eastern half of the State, a tract of country two 
hundred miles square, and — if we except the inhabi- 
table portions of Maine — as large as all New Eng- 
land, it can be truthfully stated that it is abundantly 
watered with springs and streams for stock pur- 
poses, and that clear, healthful drinking water is 
universally obtained from springs, or by digging 
from twenty to sixty feet. It is a peculiarity of the 
country, that water is often found upon the high 
prairies at a less depth than on the low lands. The 
water here is not, as in other western States, uni- 
formly hard. Settlers can locate where they may 
have soft or freestone water if they prefer, as in a 
small portion of the State the sandstone formation 
predominates, which furnishes soft water. 

All the streams in the settled portion of the State 
are larger than when the country was new, and 
many brooks and creeks flow continuously, which 
were formerl}^ dry several months in each j^ear. 
Not onl}^ is this well known to all early settlers, but 
there are thousands of springs on the prairies where 



WATER. 49 

there was formerly no indication of one. This phe- 
nomenon is owing to causes to which we have more 
fully alluded under the head of Climatic Changes. 

The editor of the Chicago Railway Review, spent 
several weeks of 1870, in a thorough examination of 
Kansas, as he had previously examined the other 
Western States. In his paper of October 27, 1870, he 
says: 

"The readers of our previous articles must te 
convinced that eastern Kansas is anything but a 
region destitute of streams. Ko country in the ivorld 
is better loaterecl.'" 

In the early settlement of the country all the prin- 
cipal roads were laid out on the divides, winding 
about between the sources of the streams, because 
bridges could not at once be erected, and roads cut 
through the timber growing on their banks. From 
this fact many early travelers in Kansas, following 
the principal roads, concluded that there were few 
streams in the country. The railroads, however, 
take a direct course across the country, and bridg- 
ing is an expensive part of the work. A report of 
the bridge contractors of the Leavenworth, Law- 
rence & Galveston Eailroad, was published in the 
Ottawa Journal of December 16, 1870, and this 
report shows that in a distance of one hundred eight 
and one-half miles south from Lawrence to Thayer, 
there were constructed sixty-seven bridges and 
trestles, (besides culverts,) — being nearly one to 
every mile and a half of the road. More than three 
million feet of timber was used in the construction 
of these bridges and trestles. A glance at the map 
will show that this railroad does not follow the 
windings of one or two streams. The line is diiectly 
across the country over divides from Ihe Kansas 
Eiver to the Marais des Cygnes, thence to the Potta- 
watomie and thence to the jSTeosho. A few trestles 
3 



50 Hutchinson's Kansas. 

are reported as over unimportant ravines, in which 
probably there is not a constant stream of water 
flowing, but the general evidence of this report is, 
that Kansas railroads are pretty well bridged for a 
country "destitute of stock water," as she has been 
reported to be. 

TIMBER. 

In the eastern half of Kansas there is a sufficiency 
of timber for practical purposes. It is found along 
the streams and in adjacent ravines, sheltered from 
the ravages of prairie fires by high rock-capped 
bluffs. The following is a list of the trees and shrubs 
of this State, prepared by Dr. C. A. Logan for a 
State document on the sanitary relations of Kansas : 

White Oak, Eed Oak, Burr Oak, Black Oak, Black 
Jack Oak, ^yater Oak, White or American Elm, Eed 
or Slippery Elm, Black Walnut, White Walnut or 
Butternut,*^ Cottonwood, Box Elder, Hackberry, 
Honey Locust, Willow, Shell Bark Hickory, Pig Nut 
Hickory, Pecan Nut Hickory, Sycamore, White 
Ash, Sugar Maple, Red Mulberrj^, Linden or Bass- 
wood, Crab Apple, Wild Cherry, Coffee Tree. 

Of shrubs and vines he gives Elder, Sumac, Green 
Brier, Gooseberry, Hazel, Pawpaw, Prickly Ash, 
Raspberry, Blackberry, Prairie Rose, and Grapes of 
several varieties. 

The streams, with their attendant timber belts, 
varying in width from two or three rods to as many 
miles, so cut the prairies in every direction that few 
farms of Eastern Kansas are more than one or two 
miles from timber, and cordwood sells from four to 
six dollars per cord in our towns. This wonderful 
advantage over most prairie States is appreciated by 
the writer at least, for my first experience in western 
farming was in Illinois, forty miles from Chicago, 
when every rail and fence post and stick of fire- 



TIMBER. 51 

wood, or whip stock even, was hauled ten miles. 
Many splendid farms have been opened in that State, 
by hauling timber twenty miles. 

Kansas really needs less timber than any other 
western State. Nowhere e-lse is there as much good 
stone available for building purposes, while coal is 
abundant and good. Yet I think that in no other 
prairie State, is there a fair supply of timber so 
evenly distributed. The mild climate of this State 
and the comparative dryness of the winter months, 
really makes the demand for timber less imj^erative 
than in localities subject to excessive cold weather, 
or where cattle need continued shelter from cold 
rains. In the latter respect the timber in this State 
is distributed in exact proportion to the wants of 
the country, for on the western and comparatively 
treeless prairies there is very little precipitation of 
moisture during cold weather. 

In the older settled portions of the State, consider- 
able of the best timber has been cut, but railroads 
are already constructed in every county in this re- 
gion, bringing pine at moderate prices (which are 
given elsewhere) from tuO upper Ivlississippi and 
Michigan pineries. Two or three lines of Kansas 
railroads are also soon to penetrate the pineries 
south of this State. By these roads pine will be fur- 
nished at low rates. It now sells at the mills in the 
pineries of the Indian Territory, Arkansas and Tex- 
as, at ten dollars to fifteen dollars per thousand feet. 
The hard pine of southern pineries is unsurpassed 
for fencing, framing stuff and flooring, and much of 
it makes excellent siding, shingles, etc. 

When large timber is cut, the remaining young 
trees grow with accelerated rapidity, and as soon as 
prairie fires are checked timber springs up on the 
open prairies, and in our rich soil soon becomes avail- 
able for domestic uses. Besides, as is shown else- 
where, it is a very easy matter to grow a thrifty 



52 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

young forest. In these ways the growth of native 
timber in the older settled prairie regions of Illinois 
and Missouri have exceeded the consumption, so that 
there is actually more timber in many localities than 
there was fifty years ago. 

PRAIRIE GRASS. 

Some writers have erroneously treated of "prairie 
grass " as a distinct variety of grass, whereas all 
grasses growing upon the prairie are classed under 
this general name. There are many distinct varie- 
ties of these wild grasses, which it would be tedious 
and profitless to mention by name. 

Excepting those varieties which pass under the 
general name of buffalo grass, the prairie grasses 
of Kansas are similar to those of other prairie 
states. They cover the entire surface of the earth, 
and stand from one foot to six feet in hight. Tall 
coarse grasses grow on the bottom lands, and the 
hay made from them sells in towns for a dollar or 
two per ton less than "upland hay," which is made 
from the shorter and finer varieties grown on higher 
lands. A constant change takes place in the varie- 
ties of prairie grass — certain kinds disappearing 
upon the settlement of the country, while other 
varieties take their place. The wide-leaved blue-stem 
or blue joint — a very valuable variety — occupies 
most of Eastern Kansas, and is rapidly extending 
Westward. The nutritious pea vine and wild rye 
grow abundantly among the grasses in many places, 
and make a hay which is equal, if not superior, to 
the best of tame hay. 

Upland prairie grass, when properly cut, cured 
and stacked, makes a hay but little inferior to tim- 
othy. There are good farmers who feed both kinds 
and have little preference for either, but their prairie 
hay as well as tame grass hay is carefully prepared 
and stacked. 



PRAIRIE GRASS. 53 

Wild grass like tame grass ought always to be cut 
for hay as soon as it is "in bloom," that is, when the 
pollen can be rattled from the head like a fine dust. 
By allowing grass to stand any considerable length 
of time after this period, the sugar, starch and other 
elements which give it value for food, are converted 
into woody fibre, as any one can see who notices 
how hard and stiff the grass gradually becomes. 
Many persons neglect hay cutting until the grass is 
not only hard and unpalatable to stock, but permit 
frost to come and find them haying. It is not sur- 
prising that such farmers think prairie hay of little 
value. Hay should be cured and stacked as soon 
as possible after cutting. By sprinkling a little salt 
upon it, the stock will eat it more freely, and as 
many think with better thrift; and if the hay is a 
little damp when stacked, salt will keep it from 
spoiling. 

Hay is generally stacked in ricks about ten feet 
wide, twelve or fifteen feet high, and as long as con- 
venient. Stacks or ricks of hay (or grain) ought to 
be kept the highest in the middle from the com- 
mencement of the rick ; carry the sides straight up 
for two-thirds the hight of the stack; when com- 
plete, twist large hay ropes and pass them across the 
top of the rick, fastening a heavy weight to the 
ends, or tie two rails or poles together, and throw 
across the top. Hay is put up in this manner with 
mowing machines and horse rakes, for two dollars to 
three dollars per ton, and by selecting a good local- 
ity, and stacking on the ground where cut, it can be 
put up for one dollar and a half per ton. Our prairies 
yield from one to three tons per acre, varying with 
the soil and the season. 

From early spring to midsummer, the prairies are 
gaily decked with flowers of various form and hue, 
presenting through this season a fascinating pano- 




'% ■ 



: • 'Mfi-^ 'It k 



fy 



ROADS. 55 

rama of ever changing color, and affording boquets 
which rival the delicate tints of costly exotics. 

THE MUD. 

"How many days in the year," asks one, "is the 
mild deep and sticky in Kansas ?". I answer that on 
the average, during three hundred days of the year, 
you can put your span of horses to your buggy and 
drive at a smart trot over our common natural prai- 
rie roads. At times the mud is deep and sticky, but 
this is a feature inseparable from a good soil, and 
owing to the excellent natural drainage of Kansas, 
the mud dries very soon after the frost goes out of 
the ground, or after a rain. 

Excepting other portions of this peculiar trans- 
Missouri region, there is no other good agricultural 
country so favored in this regard. The mud is not 
as troublesome here as in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. 

No people from any locality, which is a good farm- 
ing region, need fear the mud of Kansas, and those 
who wish to live in towns will find sidewalks ready 
made, or if not made, the price of lots will be so 
low that they can afford to endure the discomfort 
of thick boots occasionally, to be benefited by the 
inevitable rise in such property as they purchase. 

THE ROADS. 

The entire State of Kansas has the best natural 
roadways of any State in the Union, excepting Ne- 
braska, which in this regard is like Kansas. (Indeed, 
if Nebraska had our timber and stone and coal and 
climate and soil, she would be as good a State as 
Kansas is.) With either a carriage or a loaded team, 
you can drive over the entire State regardless of 
roads, by selecting good natural crossings at the 



66 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

streams. There are no swamps as in Michigan, Ohio, 
or Indiana; no sloughs as in Illinois or Iowa; no 
bogs or half-filled ponds as in Minnesota. 

STo labor whatever is expended on the prairie 
roads. The first settlers ride over the country, select- 
ing such routes as suit their convenience, and mak- 
ing a trail which soon becomes a well beaten track. 
The double track made by teams is soon worn below 
the level, leaving a ridge in the middle which is 
inconvenient for a single horse in a buggy. This is 
eventually worn down, and a wide smooth road-bed 
is formed whereon in dry weather the horses' feet 
clatter, as if upon the macadamized roadways of 
Central Park, in New York. Yery few drive less 
than two horses in this country, because feed is so 
cheap that the keeping of one or two horses, more or 
less, is a small matter. 

Men who have floundered through the intermina- 
ble sloughs of other Western States, can appreciate 
the satisfaction one feels at driving into a ravine or 
bed, of a run, and passing over upon solid rock or a 
gravel bed. The onl}^ difficulty in crossing streams 
here is at the steep banks of the la-'ger streams, or 
from high water. Short stretches of bad roads are 
occasional^' to be found on river bottoms. As before 
remarked, the roads upon the rolling prairies, or the 
second bottoms, need little repairing, making it a 
small matter to secure splendid public highways at 
all seasons of the year. For bridging the streams, 
rock and cimbor are usually at hand upon the river 
bank. 

Those who manage the public highways often make 
the same mistake here that is made elsewhere, by 
attempting to round or " pike " up with dirt, or fill 
in with stone at bad places, without first cutting 
ditches to carry off the water. Who ever saw a 
railroad that was not thoroughly drained by open 
ditches upon each side ? Professional road makers 



WIND AND WINDMILLS. 67 

understand that the basis of all good roads is drain- 
age. All must have noticed that our roads even in 
the lowest places, are firm and smooth when the 
'ground is dry. This ought to teach that such drain- 
age as shall make it impossible for water to stand a 
single hour upon the road, is the first thing to be 
secured ; without this, all other labor is vain, and in 
nine cases out of ten, this is all that is needed in our 
deep soil. Whatever is thereafter done, will be per- 
manent acd enduring. At a small cost, therefore, 
there will everywhere be solid roads in Kansas. 

Limestone rock broken in pieces, none of which 
contain more than eight cubic inches, two inches 
each way, is placed upon our city streets at prices 
ranging from seven to ten cents per cubic foot. 
The layer is made from six inches to a foot thick, 
and this is called " macadamizing the streets." If 
the road bed is well drained and rounded a very 
little, this is probably the most economical and en- 
during pavement we can use. The city of Law- 
rence, however, is testing wooden pavement by 
putting it down on her principal street. 

WIND AND WINDMILLS. 

The most disagreeable feature of prairie life — and 
what life has not some disagreeable features — is the 
wind. I call this a feature of prairie life, because 
there is more wind on prairies than there is in the 
timber. So far as my observation extends, there is 
no more wind in Kansas than in Illinois, Iowa or 
Minnesota, and it is reasonable to believe that there 
is less, because the country is not in general so flat 
as in the greater portion of those States. There is 
compensation to be found, if we seek it, in all the 
ills of life, and the general reputation of the prairie 
regions for healthful ness, is, without doubt, to be 
largely ascribed to the motion of the atmosphere. 



58 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

It is rarely entirely calm throughout any day in 
the year, a gentle breeze prevailing from the south 
during the warmest days or nights of summer. 
A close " muggy" atmosphere is unknown here. — A 
night wh§n you strip off and sit down to gasp and 
pant for a breath of air; such a night is never expe- 
rienced in Kansas. There are days when the wind 
blows and the dust flies in a very disagreeable man- 
ner, but I have seen as unpleasant days in this 
regard in New York or Boston, although there are 
more of them here. But people readily accustom 
themselves to almost any condition of the weather, 
when they are healthy and prosperous. Western 
people ''reckon the wind is a good thing," and some 
regard it as a blessing. 

Of wind-mills there is not much to be said, be- 
cause few farmers are obliged to pump water for 
stock, and' the exhaustless and universally diffused 
supply of coal, will make steam a cheap motive 
power. Add to the latter consideration the fact 
that water power is abundant over a considerable 
area of the State, and it will be seen that there is 
not a great demand for wind-mills. There is at 
liawrence a wind grist mill of the old fashioned 
kind, such as were built a hundred years ago. It 
has been in constant use five years, and is a paying 
investment. 

Professor F. H. Snow, of the State University, 
furnishes me with the following transcript from his 
records concerning the wind for the year 1870 : 

"From the 1095 observations, it appears that the 
wind was from the south, 325 times ; north, 185 
times; northwest, 182 times; east, 106 times; west, 
77 times; southwest, 71 times; northeast, 56 times; 
southeast, 56 times ; calm, 37 times." 

The average duration of the winds from the differ- 
ent quarters, as deduced by Assistant-Surgeon, G. W. 
Sternberg, U. S. A., from the recorded observations 



GEOLOGY. 59 

for nine years, at Fort JRiley, Kansas, is in the follow- 
ing proportion : 

K NE. E. SE. S. SW. W. NW. 

19. 11. 7. 9. 23. 10. 12. 7. 

GEOLOGY. 

No thorough Geological survey of the State of 
Kansas has yet been undertaken, but preliminary 
examinations and reports were made prior to 1866, 
by Professors G-. C. Swallow and B. F. Mudge, State 
Geologists, assisted by Major F. Hawn. Prof C. D. 
Wilber, late Superintendent Illinois Scientific Sur- 
vey, also made a more recent examination of a 
portion of the State, in the interest of certain rail- 
road and mining companies, of which survey an 
instructive report was published. These reports are 
so nearly out of print, as to be inaccessable to the 
public, and I have therefore taken some pains to col- 
late therefrom such matter as will be most likely to 
interest and instruct my readers. 

In no other prairie State is the study of Geology 
to interesting as in Kansas, because in none other is 
there such a variety of formations. In general 
terms the eastern one-fourth of the State belongs to 
that Geological, system called Carboniferous, in 
which are found all the bituminous coal measures of 
the State. The greater part of this area is known 
as Upper Carboniferous, the Lower Carboniferous 
only coming to the surface in the southeastern corner 
of the State. This formation is composed of many 
different layers or strata of limestone, sandstone, 
coal, marls, shales, fire-clay, slate, selenite, etc., vary- 
ing in thickness, and occurring irregularly. It has 
been asserted by all prior geologists, that there is a 
slight dip to the west, in the strata of this State, 
but this is disputed by Professor Wilber. Professor 
Swallow divides the carboniferous system into the 



60 

following series : Upper Coal series, three hundred 
and ninety-one feet in thickness; Chocolate Lime- 
stone series, seventy-nine feet ; Cave Rock series, 
seventy -five feet; Stanton Limestone series, seventy- 
four feet; Spring Eock series, eighty-eight feet; Well 
Rock series, two hundred and thirty-eight feet; 
Marais des Cygnes Coal series, three hundred and 
three feet; Pawnee Limestone series, one hundred 
and twelve feet; Fort Scott Coal series, one hundred 
and forty-two feet ; Fort Scott Marble series, twenty- 
two feet ; Lower Coal series, three hundred and fifty- 
three feet ; to which is to be added the Lower Car- 
boniferous, one hundred and twenty feet, making a 
round total of two thousand feet. 

We have spoken of the gradual increase in alti- 
tude, as one goes westward in Kansas, and a study 
of the figures at the railroad stations on the accom- 
panying map, furnishes an instructive lesson as to 
the undulations of the country. But from this it 
will be seen that the greatest elevations within one 
hundred and twenty miles of the eastern State line, 
which is about as far west as the carboniferous sys- 
tem extends, is only about four hundred feet above 
the lovvest; as, for instance, Parker, in Morris county, 
above Wyandotte at the mouth of the Kansas River. 
It is evident therefore that many of the series enu- 
merated above, can only be local in extent. If each 
one mentioned, projected westward, under those 
which lie higher, then it would, in all cases, be safe 
to sink shafts for coal, for by going deep enough, it 
could certainly be found. The coal series are as likely 
to be wanting, as any ether of the strata, and no 
experiments should be made in sinking shafts, unless 
the most careful borings have shown the presence of 
coal. Fortunately the outcroppiogs of coal are so 
abundant, that such experiments are hardly neces- 
sary, as will be shown farther along. 

In the carboniferous system. Professor Swallow 



GEOLOGY. 



61 



counted forty-four distinct strata of limestone, vary- 
ing from one foot to thirty feet in thickness, and 
making, in the aggregate, about three hundred and 
sixty feet of limestone. He also counted twenty- 
four strata of sandstone, measuring in the aggregate, 
two hundred feet. The sandstone is chiefly found 
in the lower coal measures, and in heavy beds, from 
five to fifty feet thick. The coal beds counted by 
Professor Swallow, number twenty-two, many of 
which are too thin to be of any value, but he says 
"ten of them range in thickness from one to seven 
feet." I think, however, that no coal beds have been 
worked in Kansas, which exceed four feet in thickness 




CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, LAWRENCE. 

The next higher system, which exhibits itself west 
of the foregoing, is called by Prof Swallow Upper 
and Lower Permian. He gives their respective thick- 
ness as one hundred and forty-one and five hundred 
and sixty-three feet, making a total depth of seven 
hundred and four feet. In this system he counted 
thirty-five different strata of limestone, making a 
total thickness of about two hundred feet of this 
rock. The limestones of this system are chiefly 
known as magnesian limestone. This system 
also contains beds of gypsum. The boundaries 
of the Permian system are not defined by the geolo- 



62 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

ologists, but upon the Kansas Eiver it commences 
in the neighborhood of Manhattan and extends 
across the State, from north to south, in an irregular 
belt perhaps fifty miles wide from east to west. 

Next higher, and to the westward, Prof Swallow 
places the Triassic system. The total thickness of 
the strata in this formation is given as three hundred 
and thirty-eight feet, and it is composed of limestone, 
sandstone, thin coal veins, gypsum, selenite, and 
magnesian marls and shales. 

To the westward of the foregoing is the cretaceous 
formation, extending to the foot hills of the Eocky 
Mountains, which has been more extensively exam- 
ined by Prof B. F. Mudge, of the State Agricultural 
College, Manhattan, than by any other geologist. By 
the kindness of Prof Mudge I am permitted to pre- 
sent the following memoranda, transmitted to me by 
by him, January 7, 1871. It is a valuable contribu- 
tion to science, because it contains the most recent 
geological items published in relation to Western 
Kansas. 

•' The first geological formation west of the Car- 
boniferous, is the Permean, which crosses the State 
through Davis and Eiley counties, in a northeasterly 
and southwesterly direction. The fossils correspond 
in a great degree, with those of the Permean of 
Europe, but the Carboniferous fossils unite with the 
Permean in many of the contiguous strata, so that 
no distinct line of demarcation between the two can 
be seen. West of this is a red sandstone tract, which 
corresponds to the Triassic, (or new red sandstone 
of old authors), but the fossils are so few that the 
boundaries, like the preceding, cannot be clearly de- 
fined. The Cretaceous formation is still farther west, 
crossing the State in a northeasterly and southwest- 
erly direction, near the mouths of the Saline and 
Solomon Eivers, and thence covering the whole 
westerly portion of the State. This is one of the 



GBOLOaY. 63 

richest deposits of the United States, in its fossils, 
and possesses great geological interest. It not only 
abounds in well preserved fossils, similar to those of 
other parts of the United States, as well as of Europe, 
but contains many species new to science 

''In illustration of this, the fact may be stated that 
the writer, at one locality, twenty miles west of 
Salina, obtained fifteen species of marine shells, new 
to science, and in a brief excursion near Fort Wal- 
lace, and on the Solomon, he procured three new 
species of reptiles and five of fishes, many of large 
size. 

"The predominant fossils of the eastern portion of 
this formation, are dicolyledonous leaves, of which 
about fifty species have been found, a dozen of which 
are new to science. Among these is the cinnamon, 
now growing only in torrid climes. More westerly 
are quantities of the remains of sharks and other 
fish, equaling in size the largest now known, also 
saurians and other amphibians of large size and 
peculiar forms. 

'' The soil of all these formations is rich. Even 
the sandstone region has so much of lime and organic 
substance in the loam, that the farms are equal to 
the best in the State. The Saline, Solomon and Ke- 
jDublican valleys are well timbered (for a prairie coun- 
try), the soil rich, deep and well drained. 

" Fifteen miles west of Fort Harker, at Wilson 
Creek, is a deposit of lignite coal forty-two inches 
in thickness, underlying an extensive portion of the 
country. It is also found in a corresponding situa- 
tion in the valleys of the Solomon, Saline and Repub- 
lican Elvers, but though affording a present supply of 
fuel, it is inferior to the bituminous coal found on the 
line of the railroads in the southeastern part of the 
State. The lignite from Wilson Creek was at one 
time on many of the locomotives of the Kansas Pa- 
cific Eailway. 



64 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

"The most valuable mineral in this part of the 
State is salt, which is found-in numerous springs and 
extensive salt marshes in sufficient quantities to sup- 
ply half the population of the United States. 

" Stone for building material is abundant in all the 
geological formations. In the Cretaceous, the lime 
beds are frequently from twenty to sixty feet in 
thickness, soft, easily wrought and making excellent 
quick, lime. The buildings at Fort Wallace and some 
at Fort Hayes are made from it. Those at Fort 
Harker are constructed of a brown sandstone. Some 
of the limestone strata run into a white chalk, which 
is fully equal to that imported from England. Gyp- 
sum is more or less abundant, sometimes in strata 
from ten to fifteen feet in thickness, and in future 
will be found by our farmers to be one of the most 
valuable natural deposits of our State." 

Professor Mudge gives abova sufficient evidences 
of what all geologists assert to be true: that this 
entire region was submerged in water during the 
past ages. At this period a portion of the rocky 
formations, enumerated above, were ground to pow- 
der, and intermixed in such a manner as to give to 
our soil its various and valuable chemical properties, 
which have been so fully described in preceding pages. 

STONE QUARRIES. 

Frequent allusion has already been made to the 
important part which rock deposits play in the frame 
work of Kansas scenery, and in the economy of 
Kansas life. The importance of the subject in its 
pecuniary aspects merits still further mention. 

The rock of Kansas chiefly consists, as is shown 
in the foregoing, of limestone, sandstone and gyp- 
sum. At least 90 per cent, is limestone of various 
texture and color. There is no better limestone in 



STONE QUARRIES. 



65 



the United States than is to be found in Kansas. 
Columns dressed to eight inch face, fourteen inches 
deep, and fourteen feet high, are used in two story 
brick fronts at Topeka. 

Professor J. A. ]3ent, of Wheaton College, Illinois, 
expresses the following opinion which is founded 
upon extensive travel and observation : " No state in 




CORNER MAIN AND SECOND STREETS, OTTAWA. 



the Union is so generally and so well supplied with 
rock as Kansas, and at the same time so free from 
rock which comes in the wa3^of cultivating the soil." 
The reason why these two advantages are here 
combined in so extraordinary a degree, is found in 
the fact that the strata of rock are nearl}^ all hori- 
zontal, while the entire State slopes very considerable 
to the east. The strata are thereby caused to ap- 
pear one above another, like broken and irregular 
3* 



66 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

terraces, or steps all the way westward. Then con- 
sider that excepting some of the river bottoms, 
there are no flat surfaces in the State, but that the 
entire face of the country is swept by valleys, and 
rolls, and gentle bluffs, and it is easy to see why 
the rock is found on almost every farm, so situated 
at* its projecting edges as to be convenient, but not 
troublesome. Above the rock are several feet of 
earth and soil, and below it, upon the sloping 
sides of the bluff or roll, is to be found a soil Which 
is especially deep, quick and fertile. 

Horace Greeley writes from- Kansas to the JSTew 
York Tribune, October 9, 1870, as follows : " When- 
ever a declevity, however moderate, is seen, there 
choice limestone for fencing, or building, or burnings 
may be rapidly taken out with the pick or bar. Most 
of it is in flat, square, (or oblong) blocks of ten to 
sixty pounds, whereof the poorest may be laid up 
with facility into excellent wall, leaving the better 
available for building. This limestone has yielded, 
and is still yielding, near the surface, to decay, 
enriching the soil, while increasing the facility with 
which the uncorroded portions are broken into con- 
venient blocks for use." 

With this rock, wells, cisterns and cellars are 
walled, and foundations laid for wooden or brick 
buildings, while cheap and substantial buildings are 
erected of stone. Many hundred miles of stone 
wall have been built at a cost of $1.50 to $2.50 per 
rod. Frequently the rock is quarried on the fence 
line, and the wall laid by the side of the ditch thus 
made. Judge James Hanway, of Lane, writes me : 
"'I have a stone wall which three hands quarried, 
hauled and put up at the rate of four rods per day, 
using two yoke of oxen, and alow wagon, and haul- 
ing a few rods. A skillful man can lay up five rods in 
a day, while others would be industrious at two rods.'" 



STONE QUARRIES. 67 

The following account lately appeared in the 
Topeka Daily Commonicealth, of a new quarry of flag- 
stone opened at Osage City, on the Atchison, Topeka 
& Santa Fe Eailroad, thirty-five miles from Topeka : 
" The visitor sees, laid one over. another in beautiful 
regularity, layer after layer of blue limestone, from 
one to four inches thick, in slabs from three to eight 
feet wide and from ten to thirty feet in length. These 
flag-stones are as smooth and even as a board, and 
are so situated that they may be taken up, one after 
another, with wonderful rapidity. The toughness of 
this stone may be estimated when I say that I saw 
a slab twenty-four feet in length, three feet wide and 
only three inches and a quarter in thickness, and 
weighing 2,800 pounds, suspended by a chain in the 
middle of it without breaking ! It is verj- hard and 
durable, and can be put down in sidewalks for much 
less than our cut stone walks, and will be equal if 
not superior to the very best of them. The thinner 
grade of flagging will make good walks for front 
yards, gardens, etc., and can be put down almost as 
cheap as board walks. The quarry is known to ex- 
tend a mile along the edge of a ravine. The side 
track from the railroad to the ledge will soon be* 
completed." 

This rock has the ajjpearance of slate, but an 
acid test indicates the presence of lime. I have 
examined the stone and seen it placed in sidewalks, 
and it promises to be very vakiable. I measured 
one slab which was brought to Topeka. Its dimen- 
sions were 7i feet wide, 28 feet long and three inches 
thick. JStone of the same quality was found near 
Yineland, in Douglas county, several years ago, and 
used to pave sidewalks in Lawrence. One layer less 
than two inches thick, was used upon a sidewalk 
which has stood constant usage for about six jetirs 
with little injury. This ledge did not prove to be 
extensive. 



68 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

Occasionally a traveler, following the principal 
roads which uniforml3'' seek the high divides to avoid 
streams, will pass over a rocky piece of ground 
which looks uninviting. But no man need purchase 
such land, (although it is valuable for pasturage,) 
when there is a plenty to be had for nothing, or at a 
nominal cost, as beautiful and as fertile as any the 
sun shines upon, and which has upon it rock suffi- 
cient for use. 

Magnesian limestone and gypsum^ which together 
cover an area including most of western Kansas, 
can be cut with hatchet or saw like wood, into 
blocks of any desired size, which soon harden upon 
exposure to the air. The former stone has been 
extensively shipped from Junction City to the Mis- 
souri River, where are large ftxctories, at which it is 
sawed and turned into various shapes for architect- 
ural purposes. It is reckoned by scientific men as 
among the most durable kinds of rock in the world. 
The State House at Topeka, is built of it. The 
abutments to the Leavenworth bridge are also mag- 
nesian limestone. 

Until recently it has been supposed that magne- 
sian limestone was not to be found far east of Man- 
hattan, but I find it exists in all parts of the State in 
isolated quarries, and geologists say there are more 
than twenty varieties. There is a fine ledge near 
Quenemo, in Osage county, others near Pomona, 
Franklin county, others in Johnson and the eastern 
portion of Miami counties. In Labette county it is 
abundant, and probably will be found in nearly every 
county in the State. In township seven, range six- 
teen, Jackson county, this is the prevailing stone, 
while in the remainder of the county it is not known 
to exist. 

The sandstone as well as limestone, is firm in tex- 
ture and Ms largely used for building purposes. It 
should be understood that stone needs seasoning as 



MARBLE. 69 

well as lumber, before it is used for good work. 
When quarried it contains a considerable quantity 
of water, and upon drying may expose seams not at 
first observable. If cut and used for fronts while 
still damp^ and cold weather comes on immediately, 
it is liable to be cracked by the expansion of the 
water it contains. Fine buildings have thus been 
disfigured in Kansas through the ignorance, or more 
likely the neglect, of builders who did not like to 
delay their work. Stone is frequently thus con- 
demned, when in reality it only needed seasoning. 

MARBLE. 

This variety of limestone is found in many places 
in Kansas, ordinarily of various shades of buff, brown 
and black. No white marble has been discovered. 
• Marbles have been found at Fort Scott, near Law- 
rence, also in Doniphan county, at Leavenworth and 
other localities, which take a fine polish. The Fort 
Scott marble is black, "full of yellowish veins." The 
Leavenworth marble was found in sinking the coal 
shaft hereafter described. It is four hundred feet 
below the surface; its thickness is sixteen feet three 
inches, and it is described as " solid, fine in grain, of 
a drab color, very handsomely mottled, and the hard- 
est merchantable marble in the United States." 
, Experts who have examined Kansas marbles say 
that the quality is such that a large demand may be 
supplied for mantle pieces, tops to bureaus, wash- 
stands, etc., but the question of export depends alto- 
gether upon the fashion as to colors. In other words, 
the stone is suitable, if the color is acceptable. 

FREESTONE OR SANDSTONE. 

Enough has already been said concerning the ex.^ 
cellent quarides of this rock to be found in almost 



70 



HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 



every county, exceptiDg as to its adaptation to the 
making of grindstones. 

Many persons have selected fragments which they 




MORRIS PUBLIC SCHOOL, LEAVENWORTH. 

used for sharpening edge tools, but as yet, however, 
I do not know that quarries have been ojDened which 
furnish stone of precisely the right grain for this 
purpose. But no two quarries are alike in their 



GYPSUM. 71 

characteristics, and there is reason for believing that 
among the thousands of various texture and degrees 
of hardness, a good varietj^ will j^et be found for 
grindstones. All of these articles now used in the 
West are brought from Ohio. 

GYPSUM. 

This exceedingly valuable rock is not found, to 
any considerable extent in the carboniferous forma- 
tion which we have described, but it prevails to a 
greater or less degree over the western three-fourths 
of the State — that is, over an area of about sixty 
thousand square miles. The most easterly beds 
reported by the geological survey, are in Marshall, 
and perhaps Nemaha county, in Northern Kansas, 
whence it crosses the State to the southern line. It 
is found in beds of all thickne'sses up to fifty feet, 
and in the western half of the State it occurs in 
crystalized semi-transparent sheets, resembling mica 
(or isinglass) in texture, and alum in color. 

It will be seen by a glance at the map, that five of 
the Eailroads now running in Kansas, cross the 
gypsum deposits, thus making it easily available to 
all portions of the State/ 

The uses to which this article is applied are vari- , 
ous and important. It is used as a cement, and in 
taking casts by artists, dentists, and others; in 
making busts and ornamental designs for the orna- 
ment of inner walls, as well as in giving to the walls 
themselves an elegant and durable "hard finish." 
But it is most extensively used as a fertilizer, whence 
it is called ''land plaster." Yast quantities of this 
article are imported to the Eastern States from Nova 
{Scotia. It is also sold from beds in Virginia, New 
York and Michigan, but I think is not found west of 
the latter State. Desiring to publish accurate infor- 
mation as to the proper method of j^reparing gyp- 



72 Hutchinson's Kansas. 

sum for various uses, I applied for this purpose to 
the State University at Lawrence, and received the 
following letter : 

'' State University of Kansas, } 
Lawrence, January 18, 1871. | 

3fr. 0. C. Hutchinson : 

Dear Sir : Your letter of inquiry in regard to 
the effect of heat on the fertilizing properties of 
gypsum is received. 

" Heating gypsum would injure it as a fertilizer. 
If heated below 300 degrees Fahrenheit, till the 
water of crystalization is driven off, it would harden 
on coming in contact with the moist soil; if subjected 
to a high heat it would be decomposed. 

''As a fertilizer gypsum is most valuable in a finely 
ground state. I hope in your forthcoming work, 
you will strongly press its claims upon Kansas 
farmers, for it would be especially valuable on our 
rich prairie soil. 

" To make plaster of paris, ground gypsum should 
be subjected to a heat of about 250 degrees Fahren- 
heit, till watery vapor ceases to rise, but the heat 
should not exceed 300 degrees Fahrenheit, for if 
heated above that point it will not harden on adding 
water. 

Eespectfully yours, 

Wm. H. SAUNDERS, M. D., 

Professor of Chemistry." 

It is usually applied to land at the rate of one to 
five bushels per acre. The practice most in favor is 
to sow it broad-cast over young grain or guass, es- 
pecially clover, or to apply it by the small handfui 
upon and around vegetables and Indian corn, when 
young. I have seen good planters in Virginia put a 
" pinch" in each dwarfed or stunted tobacco plant, in 



COAL. 73 

order to bring it forward. The best immediate effects 
seem to follow its application during damp weather, 
or just before a shower. Gypsum is largely used by- 
good farmers who have rich lands and who want to 
keep them rich. Its use in Kansas/applied directly 
to growing plants, would doubtless be highly bene- 
ficial. Its almost universal presence in Kansas soil 
accounts in part for the extraordinary yield of our 
land. 

In reply to a correspondent who inquired as to the 
relative value of lime and g^-psum as fertilizers, 
Moore's Rural New Yorker recently published the fol- 
lowing: " On heavy clay soils, the action of lime is 
to disintegrate and loosen ; on sandy soils it supplies 
a lack ; it sweetens some soils ; it decomposes organic 
matter in all soils. Plaster, applied as a top dressing 
to land, furnishes plants with sulphur, absorbs and 
retains for the use of plants the ammonia of the at- 
mosphere, and is a useful application on limestone 
soils, or on soils that have been dressed with lime. 
It exercises an entirely distinct agency from that of 
lime in jDromoting vegetable growth." 

As an article of commerce our gypsum beds are to 
be of great value. It is every year coming into more 
general use by farmers, and we have enough to supply 
the entire Mississippi Yalley. The quality of much 
that is found in this State is said by experts to be 
equal to the best in the world, it being uniform in 
grain and pure white in color. 

COAL. 

The geological formation called carboniferous, 
(coal-bearing,) occupies the entire eastern portion of 
the State, having a general width from east to west 
of about one hundred and twenty miles. Its west- 
ern limit crosses the Kansas Eiver through Davis 
4 



74 HUTOHIXSCVX'S KANSAS. 

and Eilcy counties, in a northeasterly and south- 
westerly direction, and its area is about seventeen 
thousand square miles. There are outcroppings of 
bituminous coal throughout the entire extent of this 
vast surface, an area more than twice the size of 
the State of Massachusetts. Professor Swallow, the 
State Geologist, counted "twenty two distinct and 
separate beds of coal. Many of these are thin, and 
of but little value, but ten of them range in thick- 
ness from one to seven feet of coal, suitable for 
domestic and manufacturing purposes." The thick- 
est outcropping veins are displayed in the south- 
eastern portion of the State, and it is supposed that 
these continue westward under the other veins 
which lie higher, and which appear at the surface 
further west and northwest. 

No considerable experiments have been made in 
boring, or by test wells or shafts, excepting at Leav- 
enworth City, where, at the depth of seven hundred 
and ten feet, an excellent quality was found, the bed 
varying from twenty-two to twenty-eight inches in 
thickness, averaging twenty-five inches. This mine 
has an excellent steam engine and good facilities for 
delivering coal. It is proposed to sink the shaft 
to a greater depth, as it is believed that a vein three 
feet in thickness can be reached at a depth of a 
thousand feet from the surface. The minens receive 
nine to nine and a half cents per bushel, and the coal 
has been sold by the car load for eighteen cents per 
bushel, but is now reduced to fifteen cents per bushel 
for manufacturing purj^oses. One of the upper coal 
veins, much inferior in quality to the shaft coal men- 
tioned, was formerly worked a few miles distant 
from Leavenworth, and other veins have been 
worked in several localities in northern Kansas. 

The coals of the upper strata, which are most 
worked, are in Osage and Franklin counties. The 
western portion of the latter county, and perhaps 



COAL. 75 

the entire sarface of the former, with portions of 
adjoining counties, are occupied by veins showing 
themselves in many places, and everywhere within 
a few feet of the surface. The citizens usually work 
the mines by drifting into the banks, but mining 
companies also work by putting down shafts or 
wells. There is one company in Franklin county, 
and four or five in Osage county, that deliver coal 
on the railroads. The mines in these two counties 
show about twenty-two to twenty five inches of 
solid coal. It is sold throughout the counties at the 
mines for fifteen to twenty cents per bushel of eighty 
pounds. 

I quote from a letter dated Topeka, * January 27, 
1871, received from W. H. Fisk, Superintendent of 
one of the Companies working in Osage county, as 
follows : 

"We have two shafts at Osage City, some fifty 
feet in depth, and a mine at Carbondale entered by 
a slope or drift, the main entry being some eight 
hundred feet long. Our present force and facilities 
will enable us to take out twenty car loads per day, 
six thousand bushels. We have contracts with the 
Kansas Pacific, and Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe 
Eailway Companies, to supply them with coal. Our 
Osage coal is pronounced by good judges to be equal 
to any in the State. The dimensions of the Osage 
shafts are 5x13 feet, 50 feet in depth." 

Mining is prosecuted extensively by organized 
companies in Bourbon county, near Fort Scott, and 
in Crawford, Cherokee, Neosho, and Labette coun- 
ties. Extensive mines are opened near Chetopa in 
the latter county ; one company ship from twenty- 
five to forty car loads per day from Fort Scott, em- 
ploying about two hundred and fifty men. The 
veins that are worked in this region range from two 
to four feet in thickness, and are but a few feet below 
the surface. Coal is found in workable veins in every 



76 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

county throughout the coal formation, but approved 
methods of exploring and opening these veins have 
been employed in but few instances. Yery little, 
indeed, is known, as yet, of the resources of the 
State in this regard, and discoveries are constantly 
being made. Six years ago, it was supposed that 
coal could be found in but three or four places in the 
entire extent of Franklin and Osage counties. Now 
it is known to be almost universally diffused in work- 
able veins. The same result will follow thorough 
explorations in other counties. 

The coal of which we have been speaking is bitu- 
minous coal, and of a superior quality. There is 
considerable luster to its broken edges, and it does 
not crumble to dust by handling and shipping, as 
does much of the coal in other Western States. It 
contains but little sulphur. It is used upon all our 
radroads, both for locomotives and in machine shops. 
It is also extensively used for domestic purposes, and 
universally by our blacksmiths. It is retailed ia 
our towns and cities for twenty-five to thirty cents 
per bushel ; but it should be remembered that it was 
not in the market in salable quantities until the con- 
struction of railroads, which cut some of the better 
veins, and this has only been accomplished within 
eighteen months of this writing. When properly 
developed — and there is in its development ample 
field for capital and enterprise — coal will be deliv- 
ered at less rates, but with great profit to mining 
companies. All the coals of this State, it should be 
mentioned, lie like the rocks, in a position nearly 
horizontal. 

Concerning its quality we introduce the testimony 
of Professor C. D. Wilber, late Superintendent of 
Illinois Scientific Survey : " These coals are excel- 
lent for all purposes ; making iron either in furnaces 
or rolling mills; making steam whether for factories, 
mills or locomotives ; in gas works or for domestic 



COAL. 



77 



use. They are singularly free from sulphur, and 
burn with the clear white flame of Pittsburgh coal." 
In western Kansas, beyond the carboniferous for- 
mation, there is a species of coal which is spoken of 
by Professor Mudge in his preceding letter. Major 
Hawn, of Leavenworth Cit}^, who was associated 
with the Geological Survey of the State, and who 
has made extensive explorations of Western Kansas, 
in connection with the lineal surveys of Government, 
writes me as follows, under date of January 9, 1871 . 




KANSAS VALLEY NATIONAL BANK, TOPEKA. 

" There is a species of coal in the western portion 
of Kansas classified as 'lignite.' This is a distinc- 
tion without an apparent difference to the ordinary 
observer, between the best specimens of it and the 
common bituminous varieties. It is a lighter coal, 
containing more gas and less caT'bon. Generally, the 
proportion of fixed carbon is so small that it is not 
suitable for smithies, but answers well for heating 
purposes. From recent discoveries, it seems to have 



78 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

a wide distribution, and will play an important part 
in the settlement of that region." 

Little is really known about the mineral deposTts 
of Western Kansas, as the State Geological Surveys 
have not extended so far; but there is evidence that 
among its abundant sources of wealth, we must 
reckon the coal deposits as not the least valuable. 
The lignites have been little examined, and yet they 
are to day held in higher esteem than were the 
coals of Eastern Kansas a dozen years ago. The 
veins of lignite coal now worked in Colorado, near 
Denver, are from six to ten feet in thickness, and the 
coal, while not so heavy as our bituminous variety, 
is suitable for all mechanical purposes, and burns 
with a brighter flame, making a very cheerful open 
fire. Preparations are making to use it extensively 
in smelting the gold and silver ores of Colorado, 
which are now shipped across the Atlantic to Wales 
for smelting. This coal is chiefly found in perpen- 
dicular veins thrown up by volcanic action. Scien- 
tific gentlemen, who recently visited these mines, 
have informed me that they are found in the same 
geological formation as that which prevails in West- 
ern Kansas. They also believe that the same veins 
continue, at an unknown depth, eastward, and that 
the lignites discovered in Western Kansas, are their 
broken and irregular out-croppings. They think 
that further explorations will undoubtedly reveal a 
vast supply of this coal in Kansas. There is not 
space here to present concurrent testimony upon 
this point ; but all, whether pioneers or manufactu- 
rers, may rest assured that Kansas is abundantly 
supplied with coal of excellent quality. 

A vast amount of coal lies under the surface, even 
of a small farm. Mining engineers allow one million 
tons for every foot in thickness of bituminous coal 
covering one square mile. This gives five hundred 
thousand tons under a farm of one hundred and 



SALT. 79 

sixty acres, in a vein only two feet thick. Estimat- 
ing that a ton of coal is equal to one and one-half 
cords, and some say two cords, of good hard wood, 
it appears that most of the farms of a quarter sec- 
tion, (one-half mile square) have under their surface 
coal equivalent to about one million cords of wood. 
" Let us suppose all Kansas to be covered by a forest, 
affording one hundred cords of wood to the acre. 
This would be considered an ample supply of fuel. 
Yet a six foot vein of coal under sixteen toiaiships, or 
five hundred and seventy-six square miles, (the ordi- 
nary size of one coxmty,) will afford more fuel than 
the entire State if covered with such forests." — Pro< 
fessor Mudge. 

But all geologists assert that there is not only six 
feet under one county, but two to six feet under every 
count}^ in all the carboniferous region of seventeen 
thousand square miles. This will do very well for a 
country that has been said to be destitute of fuel. 

SALT. 

The statement is made by Professor Mudge that 
^' the most valuable mineral in this (western) part of 
the State is salt, which is found in numerous sprirgs 
and extensive salt marshes, in sufficient quantities 
to supply half the population of the United States. 

There seems to be no reason why any limit should 
be placed to the capacity of Kansas for supplying 
salt, as the following exhibit will show. And first 
we copy from the " First Annual Eeport on the Geol- 
ogy of Kansas," by B. F. Mudge, A. M., 1864 : 

" The buffalo licks or tramps, so common in almost 
every county of the State, in most cases owe their 
origin to the presence of salt brine, even when it 
does not appear in the shape of springs at the sur- 
face. The valleys of the Yerd^ris and Fall Elvers 
have salt springs which supply a part of the loca 



80 Hutchinson's Kansas. 

demand, tliough no exertions have been made to 
develop the supply, the water from open springs or 
wells only being used, which is much diluted by the 
surface streams." 

Here follows an enumeration of springs and wells 
in Eastern Kansas from which salt has been made 
in small quantities, but which 1 think have all been 
abandoned as unprofitable. They are but the sur- 
face indications of the vast reservoir farther west. 

We continue to quote from the report. 'On the 
boundary of the State, a very large deposit of crj's- 
talized salt exists south of the great bend of the 
Arkansas River, in which it lies in beds from six to 
twenty-eight inches in depth. In one instance, two 
Government wagons were filled in a few minutes, 
without being moved. The salt is so compact as to 
require a hatchet to cut it. These deposits are un- 
doubtedly caused by the drying up of salt ponds or 
salt branches of the Cimmarron Eiver. But this is 
situated so far from the settled portions of the State, 
or any regular route of transportation, that at pres- 
ent it is of no practical value. A railroad toward 
that region would make it of vast commercial impor- 
tance." The Professor thus dismisses these great salt 
plains, for he had at that time little idea that rail- 
roads would so soon reach their rich stores. The 
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad is speedily 
to be completed to that region, and other lines are 
pushing in that direction. The area of these plains 
is estimated by the best authorities at more than 
five hundred square miles, entirely covered with an 
incrustation of pure salt of various degrees of thick- 
ness. Very few white people have ever visited this 
remarkable spot. But many bushels of excellent 
salt have been brought from there, and the wilder 
Indian tribes who formerlj^ inhabited Kansas, annu- 
ally went thither to procure a supply of salt in addi- 
tion to that furnished them by the Government. 



SALT. 81 

These salt plains lie partly in Kansas and partly in 
the Indian Territory, and are surrounded by a tine 
grazing and agricultural region. 

Professor Mudge proceeds to describe the salt 
region of ^yestern Kansas, which he says embraces 
a tract of country about thirty-five miles wide and 
eighty miles long, crossing the Eepublican, Solomon 
and Saline Vallej^s. Here are to be found numerous 
springs, but more frequently, extensive salt marshes. 
One of these he thus describes at length, as illustra- 
tive of the character and appearance of them all. 

"Take that in town four, range two, west of the 
sixth principal meridian, in the Eepublican Yalley, 
about seventj'-five miles northwest of Fort Eiley. 
It is sometimes called the Tuthill marsh. The valley 
here is wide, gradually rising to the high prairies so 
common in that part of the State. The marsh 
covers nearly one thousand acres, more or less im- 
pregnated with saline matter. About one-third is 
entirely void of vegetation, which the brine will not 
allow to grow. It is perfectly level, and at the time 
of our first visit was as white as a wintry snow field, 
with a crust of crj'stalized salt. 

"The incrustation of salt is frequently three- 
eighths of an inch in thickness. 'J'his is scr'-iped up 
and used, in its natural state, for salting cattle, etc., 
but for domestic purposes it is dissolved, by being 
mixed with about twenty gallons of water to a 
bushel of salt, when the mechanical impurities, sand, 
etc., readily settle. The salt is again returned to 
a solid state by evaporation. According to the 
observations of Mr. J. G. Tuthill, who lives near, 
and has made borings in over one hundred different 
places, to a depth of twenty or thirty feet, there is 
a very uniform supply and strength of brine. The 
water preserved for analysis was obtained by me 
from a boring made at random. It was found at four 
feet from the surface. The density, by the salome- 



82 



HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 



ter, was 24 deg., (6.16 Baume, or specific gravity ©f 
1.0421,) with the thermometer at 60 deg. This 
should give a bushel of salt for one hundred and 
thirty gallons of the water, (not counting the im- 
purities,) which is three times the strength of the 
ocean. It was taken at our second visit, immedi- 
ately after a heavy rain, which must have diluted 
the brine. 

" The large quantity of salt, within the tract 
designated is evident from the fact that the waters 
of the Solomon and Saline are so impregnated as to 
have a saline taste from points eighty miles above 




STREET SCENE, HUMBOLDT. 



their entrance into the Smoky Hill river. The 
waters of the latter, when the stream runs low, also 
show the presence of the brine. The supply of 
salt sufficient to meet this daily and hourly amount 
thus carried down, must be immense." 

Here follows a statement of localities, where the 
Professor found salt marshes, varying in size from 
a few acres up to three thousand acres, the latter 
located in townships four and five, of range five 
west. Throughout the country south of the Ar- 



SAET. 83 

kansas Eiver, there are also extensive and very 
promising indications of salt. 

Having shown that these deposits are found in the 
true salt bearing geological formations, as developed 
in this country and in Europe, and hiaving proved 
that the strength of the brines is entirely satisfac- 
tory. Prof. Mudge proceeds as follows : 

"The analysis of the salt and brine from the Tut- 
hill marsh, made by Prof. C. F. Chandler, of the 
School of Mines, Columbia College, New York, is as 
follows : 

Brine Brine, 1 

Salt. IQOpts. U. S. gal. 

Chloride of Si dium (salt) 96.689 4.708 2,861.20 

Sulphate of Soda 1.959 0.573 348.23 

Sulphate of Lime 0.216 0.157 95,41 

Chloride of Magnesium 0.300 231 140 39 

Oxide of Iron trace trace. 

Sand and Clay 050 0.010 0.61 

Water 0.786 94 221 57.327.35 

100,000 99.900 60,773.19 
Density of brine, 1.0421—6.16 Baume, 
Total sali-ne matter in brine, 5.779. 
Chloride of Scdium per U. !^. gallon of 231 cubic inches 6.53 oz. 

" This gives one bushel of solid matter to one 
hundred and ten gallons, or one bushel of pure salt 
to one hundred and thirty gallons of brine. The 
water was taken by me from a boring made at ran- 
dom, within four feet of the surface. The salt, I 
took from one of ^^tj holloio logs, in which it was 
being made. The percentage of solid impurities is 
2.55, and contains no chloride of calcium. No attempt 
was made to purify the salt, as the parties making 
it had no pre\ious knowlede of the business. The 
ordinary market salts of the United States contain 
from two to six percentage of impurities; a larger 
portion being nearer the latter than the former 
standard." 

The report of the Onondaga Salt Springs in the 
State of New York, shows that the "Factory filled 
refined for table and dairy," contains 1.60 per cent, 
of solid impurities. The celebrated " Stoved Ashton 



84 

Salt," of England, contains about the same amount 
of impurities, and they are prepared with great care, 
and are acknowledged to be among the best salts in 
the world. Thus it is seen that our unrefined salts 
are nearh^ equal to the best commercial salts. 

Subsequent to the explorations of Professor Mudge, 
a few gentlemen, residents of Kansas, stimulated by 
these discoveries — in which indeed they had taken 
part, by defra3ing certain expenses incurred therein, 
organized the Continental Salt Compan}^ and ob- 
tained eight hundred acres of land in the lorks cf 
the Solomon and Smoky Hill Eivers. 

" The first thing done was to sink an artesian well, 
in the ordinary manner, at a point where the brines 
oozing through the soil at the river bank had formed 
by solar evaporation an incrustation of salt thereon. 
Indications Avere apparent at twenty feet from the 
surface, which steadily increased in volume and 
strength to the depth of two hundred feet. The 
driling was continued to the depth of six liundred 
feet, but the strength of the brine was not very 
j>erceptibly increased below two hundred feet." 

This company is yet in its infancy, but they have 
a number of vats with movable covers, and by solar 
evaporation have manufactured salt for three years. 
They have produced several thousand bushels with 
very satisfactory pecuniary results, as is proven by 
the increased number of vats used each year, and 
the erection of dwellings for workmen. This salt, 
in its unrefined state, as taken from the vats, has 
been analyzed by Professor Gossman, of Syracuse, 
New York, with the following result : 

Chloride of Sodium (saU) 980.565 

Sulphate of Lime 17.220 

Sulphate of Soda 3.511 

Chloride of Magnesium 2.400 

Chloride of Calcium Kot a trace 

It is to be noticed that ^' not a trace " of Chloride 
of Calcium was discovered by this analysis, agreeing 



SALT.' 85 

perfectly in this important particular, with the 
analysis already given from Professor Chandler, of 
the Tiithill marsh salt and brine. It is asserted upon 
good authority that no other brines have yet been 
discovered in the United States that are entirely 
free from these '•' deleterious bitter waters." 

Even the celebrated ^' Petite Ause " deposit of salt 
in Louisiana, which has been repeatedly claimed as 
the purest salt in the world, contains Chloride of 
Calcium, as shown by the following analysis, made 
by Dr. Rindall in 1863, acting under the direction of 
the United States G-overnment : 

Chloride of Soditim (salt) 98.86 

Sulphate of Lime 76 

Chloride of Magnesium 25 

Chloride of Calcium 13 

100.00 

In order to make butter which can be preserved 
sweet and good any considerable length of time, it 
has become the universal custom of dairymen to use 
ground rock salt, manufactured with great care and 
at considerable cost in the United States. But here 
in Kansas, in the center of the Union, are found 
inexhaustible stores of salt, entirely free from these 
hitter ivaters. 

This salt supply is also where it will be in great 
local demand, both for dairy purposes and for pack- 
ing beef. There can be no question in the minds of 
any who read this book that numerous beef-packing 
establishments will soon be erected where cattle are 
so easily grown and fattened, and salt so easily man- 
ufactured. And those who examine the testimony 
given by the letter of Rev. J. Sternberg must con- 
cede that Kansas promises wonderful results in 
dairy products also. Add to this the fact that there 
are no salt works west of Michigan, and it will be 
seen that here are openings for enterprising capital- 
ists which cannot long remain unoccupied. 



People will ask the thoughtless question, '' Why 
have not these salt resources been developed? " One 
might as well ask why people settled in the forbid- 
ding regions east of the AUeghanies, when Illinois 
and Kansas were all unoccupied. It takes time to 
develop great resources, and it is an advantage which 
Kansas offers to the enterprising, that there is 
something here to he developed. 

The Saginaw Salt Works produced twenty thous- 
and bushels in 1860, but now they produce three mil- 
lion bushels annually. The demand for salt in each 
State is nearly one bushel per annum to every inhab- 
itant, and probably more than that in the great beef 
and pork packing Western States. 

IRON. 

Iron ores, varying considerably in character, have 
been found in various portions of the State ; but, as 
yet, nothing has been discovered which gives any 
promise of competing with the vast supply of iron 
found in Missouri, at a distance of only about one 
hundred miles from our eastern border; and, in Col- 
orado, but three hundred miles from our western 
border. We have the coal for manufacturing, and it 
is not far to bring iron, either from the east or the 
west. 

But it is not improbable that it will yet be found 
in paying quantities in unexplored Western Kansas. 
Professor Swallow sayfe : " The tertiary strata in the 
western part of the State probably contain extensive 
beds of this ore." Professor Mudge says : " We 
have been shown a specimen of brown hematite iron 
ore from the western part of the State of very supe- 
rior quality, and containing nearly sixty per cent, of 
iron. 

LEAD. 

Lead has been taken out to a small extent in Linn 



TIN. 87 

county, and those familiar with the locality believe 
that it would be profitable to develop the mines. It 
is evident from the debris about the excavations that 
considerable work has been done here many years 
ago, but there is no clue by which we can determine 
who were the miners, and there are no evidences 
of ancient habitations in that vicinity. 

Lead ore from Howard county was presented to 
the Kansas Historical Society by Professor J. D. 
Parker, in December, 1870, and was analyzed by 
Professor W. H. Saunders of the State University, 
with the following result : i^ 

Sulphur 13 33 

Lead 86.67 

100.00 

The analysis will be seen to be satisfactory, but 
whether the ore exists in paying quantities is unde- 
termined. 

Geologists tell us that there is no probability that 
lead exists in any considerable quantities in Kansas; 
but it has often been asserted by friendly Indians 
that they knew of extensive deposits of lead ore. 
The Ottawas, who lately removed to the Indian Ter- 
ritory from Franklin county, were confident that 
within a half mile of a certain spring on their reser- 
vation, there is lead in abundance. 1 once had in my 
possession a very fine specimen of lead ore, which 
an Indian of the Sac and Fox tribe asserted that he 
found on their reservation in Osage county, but the 
location he would not point out. Uneducated Indi- 
ans believe that the Great Spirit will be angry if they 
reveal to white men any mineral deposits. 

TIN. 

Concerning this metal, Professor Mudge holds 
the following language : "Frequent reports have been 
in circulation that this, usually rare mineral, is found 



mmi^f^n^'^fivmm]mwr'r 




'^''uj'iiii;'iiii.';:!iliill'li' 



ALUM. 89 

here. Several fine specimens of rich protoxyd of tin 
have been, on several occasions, produced by the 
Indians. As their statements concerning them were, 
in some cases, not true, it still remains an unsettled 
question whether -they originated in the State. 

H< ^ 5Si ;(c 5{S 

" Until we find some eruptive rocks breaking 
through the recent strata, we must conclude that it 
is not native to Kansas. The western portion of the 
State, however, is so far a geological terra-incognita 
that it is possible that some local igneous action may 
have brought tin to the surface." 

ALUM. 

On page 28 of Professor Mudge's report occurs the 
following : 

" We have noticed the presence of alum in quite a 
number of places in the State. At Zeandale it is 
found in small crj^stals; also, at several points on 
Mill creek, in Wabaunsee county. In the eastern 
part of T. 4, E. 10, west, it is found in connection 
with a seam of lignite coal. It is associated with 
native sulphur. A similar deposit is seen on Chap- 
man creek, in T. 11, E. 2. east, about twenty miles 
west of Fort Eiley, with the additional associate of 
salt-petre or nitrate of potash. It is also found in 
various places on the southern side of the Smoky 
Hill, from Salina eastward, oyer a tract of fifteen or 
twenty miles in extent. It exists in a sufficient quan- 
tity to make a commercial commodity, whenever 
capital and labor shall become more abundant in our 
State. 

" In England, alum is manufactured from alum slate 
and analagous minerals, in which it becomes neces- 
sary to calcine and pulverize the material before the 
alum can be extracted. But in our deposits the arti-^ 
4* 



90 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

cle is SO free that the manufacture will be rauch more 
easy and economical." 

HYDRAULIC CEMENT. 

Professor Swallow says : " Limestone suitable for 
hydraulic cement is abundant." 

From Professor Mudge I quote as follows : 

•'A bed of brown hydraulic limestone was 
worked, about eight or ten years ago, by the late 
Dr. F. Barker^ at his farm four miles northwest of 
Lawrence. Not being familiar with the manufac- 
ture of the article, he probably did not succeed as 
well as a person of experience. Still he made a good 
cement, which was used by various builders at Law- 
rence, for cisterns and other similar purposes. 
Many of the cisterns are still in use, with the 
cement in good condition. They show a durability 
which compares favorably with the best Kentucky 
cements now sold in our State. Dr. Barker was 
intending to pursue the business more systematically 
and extensively, when his death closed the opera- 
tions. No one has worked the bed since his decease. 
His experiment, so far as it was tried, was perfectly 
satisfactory, and the stratum has all the qualities of 
a good hydraulic cement. This bed of hydraulic 
limestone extends across the country over Leaven- 
worth and Atchison counties, and- also southwest- 
erly, nearly, if not quite, to the southerly bounds of 
the State, and probably it will be found to retain 
good cement properties in the whole of that exten- 
sive area." 

It is probably the same bed which has but re- 
cently been opened in Cowley county, near the 
Arkansas Eiver, which I am informed produces an 
excellent article of cement. 

PETROLEUM. 

This oil flows to the surface through the fractures 



PAINTS. 91 

in sandstone rock in many places. The Indians 
from earliest times, have collected it from springs 
and used it for medicinal purposes. Whether it 
exists in sufficient quantities to furnish an article 
of commerce, remains unsettled. 

Considerable expenditures have been made in 
borings in Miami county, and oil in quantities was 
obtained, but the final results were unsatisfactory. 

Professor Mudge says : 

''It is found at so many different places, that it is 
reasonable to suppose that a large body may exist 
below. The nature of the clay shales which com- 
pose a large portion of the deposits for seven or 
eight hundred feet below the surface, would not 
readily allow it to come up, if it were there. Should 
it be found in paying quantities it is probable that 
it will be below the coal measures. No one should 
invest in the business more than he could afford to 
lose without embarrassment. The question cannot 
be considered as settled without numerous borings 
to a depth of eight hundred or one thousand feet." 

PAINTS. 

Professor Swallow says : " There are several beds 
of purjDle shales in the coal measures which appear 
to have all the properties of a good outside j^aint. 
One of these beds has been used at Parkville and 
other places, and found beautiful, durable, and fire 
proof when used in thick coats. The bed thus 
proved is over ten feet thick, and crops out in the 
bluff of the Missouri all the way from White Gloud 
to Wyandotte, and up the Kansas to Lawrence. It 
also appears southeast to Mound City. Other beds 
which appear equally valuable crop out on the Big 
Blue, the Neosho, the Cottonwood and the Yerdigris.' 

At Fort Scott, twenty-five miles south of Mound 
City, a vein or bed of paint was discovered after the 



92 Hutchinson's Kansas. 

above was written. This is a few feet below the 
surface, and is extensively used in that locality. It 
is also coming to be an article of export to other 
places, and gives good satisfaction. There is no 
room for doubt that in Kansas, awaiting develop- 
ment, there is material for making a fire proof and 
water proof paint for roofs, as well as for walls and 
fences. 

Learning of a deposit of paint at Osage City on 
the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Eailroad, I ad- 
dressed a letter of inquiry to one of the principal 
citizens of the place, Mr. John F. Dodds, and received 
the following reply, dated March 1st, 1871 : 

"The mineral paint at our place is ochre. The 
vein or bed is about three fourths of a mile in width, 
one mile or more in length, and twelve feet six inches 
thick. It lies from five to eight feet below the sur- 
face, and upon a strata of solid limestone rock, vary- 
ing in thickness from two to three feet. The pig- 
ment has been analyzed by Dr. W. H. Saunders, of 
Lawrence, and by Dr. Murray, of Dayton, Ohio, with 
the following results, viz : 

Ochre 98 

Alum 1 

Lime •. 1 

100 

" I send you the following figures, taken from 
accurate measurement of the strata underneath our 
town : 

Section of 34 feet 8 inches below the surface. 

Soil and earth 5 feet 

Ochre 12 " 6 inches 

Limestone 2 " 6 

Clay and 8hal« 3 " 

Limestone 3 " 

Slateand ShalB 3 " 

0»al 1 " 8 

Fire Clay , 4 " 

Tdltal 34 ■' 8. «' 



LIMB BURNING. 93 

CLAY FOR BRICK. 

Notwithstanding the abundant supply of excel- 
lent stone for building purposes, many people prefer 
to build of brick. There is a plentiful supply of 
clay for brick making, and it is often so intermixed 
with sand as to be ready for tempering and mold- 
ing. With clay and timber convenient to the house 
site, a farmer may, with the aid of an experienced 
brick maker, and two or three cheap hands, burn a 
kiln of brick at a small cost for the construction of 
his buildings. When sold at kilns, the prices range 
from eight dollars to ten dollars per thousand, in the 
season for the business, but the supply is always 
exhausted before the demand ceases in the fall, and 
prices become somewhat higher. • 

LIME BURNING. 

From what has been said of the configuration of 
the country, and of the location of stone quarries, 
it will readily be seen that it is little trouble to make 
quick lime. Any of the limestone rock makes 
lime, but the strongest quality obtained from com- 
mon limestone, is made from the darker layers. All 
the varieties of magnesian limestone, make strong 
and white lime. 

Having selected a good quarry, and one need not 
go far to find it, an excavation of the desired size is 
made in the side of the hill, all quarries being upon 
the edge of a declivity. This opening is walled up 
from the bottom, aad an open arch five or six feet 
high is left on the lower side, where the fuel is put 
in and the lime taken out when burned. The top 
of the kiln is drawn partly together to cause a 
draft. Eock are then laid up roughly on the bot- 
tom in the form of an arch, to contain fuel, and 
upon this rough arch the stones for lime are thrown 



94 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

from the top, until the kiln is full. Either wood or 
coal is used for fuel, and a brisk fire is kept up three 
or four days, after which the lime is ready for use. 
When coal is used it is mixed with the stone, instead 
of being placed under it, as is the case with wood. 
The lime thus burned is somewhat injured chemi- 
cally, owing to the presence of more or less sulphur 
in the coal. To obviate this, a patent coal kiln is 
used, wherein water can be applied in such manner 
as to counteract the effects of the sulphur. If left 
in the kiln the top and entrance should be covered 
to keep out water. Lime long exposed to the air 
re-absorbs carbonic acid, which was thrown off by 
burning, and becomes limestone again. In a finely 
pulverized state. 

In slacking lime, add to it at once enough water to 
cover it, and stir it constantly until it is slacked, 
when it should be of the consistency of cream. If 
only a little water is added at a time it injures the 
quality of the lime. 

Fresh lime is largely used by many eastern 
farmers, and especially in the famous and fertile 
Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, as a top dressing 
for the soil, five to fifteen bushels per acre being 
applied about every ten years. That valley is in a 
limestone formation. There is little doubt that much 
of our Kansas soil would be benefited by the appli- 
cation of lime. For whatever purposes needed, 
whether mechanical or agricultural, it is abundant 
in Kansas. It sells at the kiln for about twenty 
cents per bushel and with a good profit to the burner. 

WESTERN KANSAS AND THE BUFFALO GRASS. 

The western third of Kansas now demands our 
particular attention — the portion so lately included 
in that mythical region, " The Great American Des- 
ert." I am firmly x^ersuaded that no portion of the 



WESTERN KANSAS AND THE BUFFALO GRASS. 95 



United States east of the Eocky Mountains deserved 
this title, for the simple reason that there is no des- 
ert. Wherever buffalo, antelope, and deer graze and 
fatten, there domestic cattle may also graze and 
fatten, and it is known that these animals have from 




BAPTIST CHURCH, LEAVENWORTH. 

time immemorial, ranged in countless numbers in all 
the region called the plains. Certainly it is a mis- 
nomer to speak of any country as a desert, that will, 
by a few months grazing, so fattea cattle that they 
actually compete in Eastern markets with stall-fed 



96 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

cattle. This may be done in all that country alluded 
to. It is true that there is a great difference in the 
amount of feed produced per acre in different locali- 
ties, but even the poorest of all this vast area pro- 
duces scattering tufts of buffalo c^rass. 

The treeless expanse called " The Plains," sweeps 
along the base of the Rocky MouDtaius, two or three 
hundred miles in width at its southern extremity, 
and gradually widening as it extends fifteen hundred 
miles northward into British America. On most of 
this vast area, the grass is not simply scattering, 
but is a continuous mat of fine herbage, three to six 
inches high. 

The best grass growing in Texas is called mesquit, 
and produces two or three times as much feed per 
acre as the buffalo grass. Near and among the 
Rocky Mountains, is gramma grass, and also a va- 
riety called bunch grass. On a portion of the plains 
is a grass called small, or bastard mesquit. All these 
grasses have a curled leaf The name, buffalo grass, 
is given to all grasses of this kind in Kansas. Some 
think the true buffalo gra-s to be a distinct variety 
from the small mesquit, and others claim that they 
are identical. The buffalo grass spreads on the 
ground somewhat in the manner of a strawberry 
vine, and its leaf curls close to the ground, so that 
it looks more like a bed of bleached moss than it 
does like common grass. Its seed grows on one side 
of a delicate stem. This grass is extremely sweet, 
and the more so the nearer its roots. 

It is true that there are considerable alkali tracts 
on the plains, (but not in Kansas, according to the 
best information which I can obtain,) where grazing 
is not practicable, by reason ol bad water, but not 
for lack of a fertile soil, because, by irrigation, alkali 
lands, as in Utah, become extremely productive. 
Most varieties of these grasses are in a growing con- 
dition from early spring until autumn, wheto, during 



WESTERN KANSAS AND THE BUFFALO GRASS. 97 

the beautiful weather of that season, the}' cure upon 
the stalk. Thus they retain their nutritious quali- 
ties through the dry winters, which invariably bless 
the herdsman and his herd in these regions. Other 
varieties are green in Western Kansas during the 
winter months, as the attentive reader can learn 
from the letter of Eev. L. Sternberg, of Fort Ilai ker. 

Add to this sufficient evidence, the indisputable 
fact that cattle in vast herds, not of hundreds simply, 
but of thousands in number, are to-da}^ grazing upon 
buffalo grass, and that not alone in Kansas, but also 
in Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming. 

Travelers who pass through Kansas upon the 
Kansas Pacific Eailway, enter upon the Buffalo grass 
region after riding about two hundred miles through 
the fat meadows, the luxuriant corn fields, and the 
vigorous wild grasses of Eastern Kansas, and as they 
come in sight of the brown and shriveled buffalo 
grass, it seems indeed contemptible. It is very true 
that vast herds of buffalo are seen, extending for 
miles in either direction, sometimes huddled in dis- 
tant masses which resemble low islands in the sea, 
or, at other times, are ^o numerous and so persistent 
in keeping to their course, that the engineer is 
obliged to stop his train and give them the track, 
until they cross it in their line of march. The trav- 
eler also sees the dressed carcasses of buffalo and 
antelope at every station, which are as fat as stall- 
fed beef ; and yet many people return from the trip 
and talk about the "Buffalo Grass Desert."' Who 
would suppose that buffalo would return to a " des- 
ert " for feed year after year? nay, that they would 
stay there the year around, as thousands annually 
do stay in the valleys of the Eepublican, Solomon, 
Smoky Hill and Arkansas rivers, and their tributa- 
ries? Many an eastern farmer would gladly turn the 
flocks and herds on to this desert, which crop the 
5 



98 

low grass Id his high priced pastures, or during six 
months of winter, eat the hay he has so laboriously 
garnered. 

I think the higher and drier portions of Western 
Kansas is in some respects superior as a winter stock 
range. The less rain falls upon the grass, the richer 
it will be. This is not a theoretical opinion. Stock 
that ranged on grass during the hard winter of 
1860-'61, which succeeded the famous "dry season," 
came out in the spring in better order than usual. 
The grass was short, but very nutritious — having 
cured on the ground. The time is not distant when 
the western portion of the State, one hundred by 
two hundred miles in extent, will be selected as the 
choice pasture land of the continent. Its altitude of 
twenty-five hundred to thirty-five hundred feet above 
the ocean level, makes the climate all that could be 
be desired. It is plentifully watered for stock pur- 
poses, by springs and running streams, whose water 
is palatable to the herds and flocks, and upon the 
banks are small timber growths, and high bluffs for 
shelter. There are also stone quarries, from which 
houses maybe cheaply constructed for the herdsmen. 

I think it true that everywhere in Kansas, a little 
hay ought to be put up as a safeguard against light 
snows, accompanied by wind, which may render 
grazing diflScult for a few days at a time. Such 
snows occur every two or three years, in all the 
region we have been considering ; but are much le,j3 
severe in Kansas than farther north. Whenever 
they occur, great herders expect to lose more or less 
stock. It is one of the chances they take, and the 
aggregate results for a series of years prove that 
with all the risks, the business is still very profita- 
ble. But in every part of Kansas there is grass in 
abundance to make hay. The wide bottoms afford 
from one to three tons per acre, even at the western 
limits of the State, and on ground as smooth as a 



WESTERN KANSAS AND THE BUFFALO GRASS. 9y 

floor, it is little trouble to piit up hay with machin- 
ery. Perhaps half the year it would stand untouched, 
while stock fattened on the buffalo grass. But it is 
better to provide against contingencies, and if not 
used, it will keep over in good condition, if well 
stacked. The estimated amount that ought to be 
put up per head in the buffalo grass region, is from 
four hundred to six hundred pounds. Among scores 
of experienced stock men, with whom I compared 
notes upon this subject, none set it higher than the 
latter figures. 

John S. Chisum, one of the most noted stock deal- 
ers and breeders of Texas, a man who handles cat- 
tle by the ten thousand head, said : " For Kansas, 
from four to five hundred pounds." Major H. Shank- 
lin, of Lawrence, who has wintered cattle in the 
Arkansas Yalley several seasons, said : ^' Five hun- 
dred pounds, and it may rot down unfed every other 
year." Eev. L. Sternberg, who lives at Fort Harker, 
on the Kansas Pacific Eailway, said : " Five or six 
hundred pounds, and probably not half that amount 
will be fed out." Nor is this precaution desirable for 
Kansas alone. In Colorado, prudent persons provide 
a little hay for their stock, and think that it pays 
them a profit to do so, and with the rearing of im- 
proved breeds this will be an acknowledged neces- 
sity. Large herders with thousands of cattle, do 
not consider the loss of a few score head of cheap 
Texas stock as a matter of importance. But when 
«ach bullock comes to be worth fifty or seventy-five 
dollars, the case will be different. 

The foregoing was written in December, 1870. It 
is now April, 1871, and we have passed through a 
very severe winter, snow having lain on the ground 
longer than ever before known. During this winter 
many thousand head of cattle have fed on buffalo 
grass and winter grasses, without any hay or grain 
whatever. The result has been surprising to all. 



100 



HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 



Among Texas cattle, or stock bred from them, (and 
there is little other stock in the buifalo grass region,) 
there has been less loss than in the more eastern or 
southern portion of the State, where they were fed 
on hay or hay and corn. The cattle thus wintered 
will soon fatten upon the fresh grass. It is natural 
for this stock to get its own living on the range, 
and they do not do well on corn the first year they 
are brought from Texas. Next to their native range 




WIRE SUSPENSION BRIDGE, OTTAWA. 

a field of standing corn stalks, after the ears have 
been plucked, seems the best suited to their wants. 
Sheep have also done well in AYestern Kansas 
this winter, on grass alone. I am convinced that 
herders, with several hundred or thousands of cattle^ 
will do better to seek some of the many canyons^ or 
sheltering bluffs, or timber patches, to be found in 
the buffalo grass region, with plenty of water, and 
graze stock all the season, than to cut hay for them. 



WESTERN KANSAS AND THE BUFFALO GRASS. 101 

The loss in the former case will not equal the addi- 
tional expense in the latter case. Small stock raisers 
and farmers will undoubtedly do well to put up a 
little hay. 

In short, Western Kansas and its buffalo grass 
offers the best advantages in this State, or in any State 
for stock raising. I do not advise people to rush into 
that region — that is, to the remote high prairies 
where nothing grows but buffalo grass — who are 
destitute of means, but with a little capital to invest 
in stock, a living is certain and easy. There is cer- 
tainly no need for any to suffer for meat in that 
region, for buffalo meat is toothsome and nutritious, 
and to be had for the killing, while the peculiar waxy 
fat furnishes to the hardy frontiersman a sweet and 
healthful substitute for bread. 

The amount of feed on a given space of buffalo 
grass, is also much greater than most people suppose. 
Even Horace Gi-eelay^ who was the first man of 
prominence in the Cf-st, to recognize the value of the 
trans-Missouri com try, speaks of grazing one bul- 
lock to each quarter section, (160 acres.) But the 
most intelligent of experienced observers, reckon 
from three to fi 70 acres of buffalo grass as furnishing 
as much feed as one acre of our best prairie grasses, 
such as are found in eastern Kansas and in Illinois. 

In confirmation of what has been said, I take 
pleasure in presenting the following letters, relating 
respectively to the northern, central and southern 
portions of Western Kansas. All are written by 
gentlemen well known in their respective localities. 
The first is from a farmer, Mr. A. B. Warner, in 
northwestern Kansas : 

" Eepublic County, Kansas, ") 
November 28, 1870. j 
Mr. G. 0. Hutchinson : 

Dear Sir: I send you a few facta concerning tha 
northern part of the State, or at least that portion 



102 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

of it which has come under my personal observation. 
The portion I shall refer to, is chiefly watered by the 
Eepublican Eiver and its tributaries. These streams 
have many beautiful mill sites, and we think here it 
would be hard to find a portion of prairie country 
more highly favored in respect to water, notwith- 
standing it is in ' drouthy Kans^. ' 

" About eighty miles west of this county, a tribu- 
tary takes in to the Eepublican, called Prairie Dog, 
and a beautiful stream it is, having quite a belt of 
timber along its banks. Its bottoms are wide and 
fertile, and all who see it are in no wise sparing of 
their praise. There is yet little or ' no settlement 
along the stream, and none on the adjacent prairies, 
but there is strong talk of a settlement there in the 
spring. White Eock is another tributary of the 
Eepublican and enters it about ten miles from where 
the last named stream crosses the western line of 
Kansas from Nebraska and in range five west. On 
its lovely bank, on lands the most beautiful eyes 
ever rested upon, we have taken up our abodes. Its 
line towards the head is a trifle south of west, and 
it is about sixty miles long. It has quite an abun- 
dance of timber, though not quite so much as Prairie 
Dog, and besides the stream is not so large. The 
waters of the latter run the year round, while those 
of White Eock, in very dry weather, will sometimes 
cease to run, though at all times it contains a suffi- 
ciency of pure water for stock. Its bottoms are 
very fertile, as well as the adjoining prairies. The 
former are all taken for thirty miles from its mouth, 
but of the latter there are thousands and tens of 
thousands of acres of as rich and beautiful prairie 
lands as ever graced a western State. The old inhab- 
itants say they can get a living here easier than in 
any other place they ever saw. 
Your* respectfully, 

A. B. WAENEE." 



WESTERN KANSAS AND THE BUFFALO GRASS. 103 

The next letter is from Eev. Dr. L. Sternberg, a 
Lutheran clergyman of high standing, who went to 
Western Kansas for his health, and to open farms 
with his sons. He formerly resided in New York, 
and afterward in Ohio and Northern Illinois, and is 
consequently familiar with the best dairy regions in 
the United States. I call especial attention to the 
testimony he adduces as to the character of this 
region for 

Dairying. 

" Fort Harker, December 10, 1870. 
Mr, C, G. Hutchinson : 

Dear Sir : You desire to know if the Plains are 
well adapted to butter and cheese making, and also 
my method. In replying to the first inquiry, it may 
be proper to say that I am not prepared to speak of 
the Plains generally. Portions of them may be bar- 
ren and destitute of water and of natural shelter for- 
stock. My remarks are intended to apply more 
especially to Ellsworth county, the eastern limit in 
this part of the State of the buffalo grass region. 
Whether a countrj^ is well adapted for stock and dairy 
purposes, depends upon its grasses; vrater and climate,- 

" We have both winter and summer grasses. Our 
winter grasses are such as keep green, and grow 
somewhat during the winter, especially in sheltered 
places in ravines and near the banks of streams. 
They come forward ver}- early in the spring so as to 
afford good pasturage, in this region generally about 
the middle of March. The principal variety ripens 
about the first of June, and resembles what we used 
to call the early June grass in New York. When 
green, it is sweet and tender, and cattle eat it with 
avidity. 

" Our summer grasses may be divided into two 
classes, consisting of such as are only fit for grazing, 



104 Hutchinson's kansas: 

and such as are also suitable to be cut for hay. The 
term buffalo grass, includes the gramma grass, or the 
curled mesquit, both of them remarkably nutritious, 
even when ripened and dry, and affording almost as 
good pasturage in winter as in summer, but too short 
to be cut for hay. The blue joint is our principal 
grass for hay. It is the latest of our grasses in com- 
ing forward in the spring, only appearing about the 
time when our winter grasses are beginning to ripen. 
We have at present little more of this grass than is 
required for hay ; but I am sorry to say that it is 
slowly but surely supplanting the buffalo grass. The 
milk produced from these grasses is remarkably rich, 
and our cows have access to no plants giving their 
milk an unpleasant flavor, except that late in the fall 
they sometimes eat a species of wild sage, giving it a 
bitter taste. 

" Good water is a prime necessity for a stock and 
dairy country. It should be running water. Stagnant 
water affects the quality of the milk injuriously. 
Water drawn by hand involves too much labor, and 
is too uncertain a reliance. Our river water, and 
that flowing from our numerous springs, is most 
excellent for stock. 

" Our climate is of a medium character. We are 
subject to occasional storms, when cattle need some 
natural or artificial sheltf^r, and it may be some hay. 
Usually, however, they graze upon the open prairie, 
in winter as in summer. Thus far I have not been 
required to feed my cattle more than about a dozen 
times during the winter, and they reach the spring 
in fine order, unless they should be pulled down 
somewhat by some special cause, such as coming in 
too early. In summer our climate -is not warmer 
than in more northern latitudas. 'However warm it 
may be during the day, our nights are invariably 
cool and refreshing. The heats of summer, there- 
fore, interfere but little with butter and cheese mak- 



WESTERN KANSAS AND THE BUFFALO GRASS. 105 

ing, to those who have a suitable place for the pur- 
pose, and I know of no reason why we may not com- 
pete succesfully both as to quality and quantity with 
the dairymen of any part of our country. 

" In the manufacture of butter, I am careful as to 
the condition of my cream, not leaving it to stand 
too long. I use the dash churn. I am careful to 
work out all the buttermilk, and yet not destroy the 
grain of the butter. This requires both experience 
and skill. The salt which should be of the purest 
kind, and about an ounce to the pound of butter, 
should be thoroughly incorporated with the butter, 
and dissolve in it. If the cream be too warm in 
churning, the butter will be of an inferior quality, 
and will readily soften in warm weather. The proper 
temperature is from fifty-six to sixty degrees. The 
cooler the cream, the longer the butter is in coming, 
but the better the butter. 

Tours truly, 

L. STEENBEEG." 

At the last annual February meeting of the 
Farmers' Institute, held at the State Agricultural 
College, in Manhattan, Eev. Dr. Sternberg was pres- 
ent with his friend and neighbor of Ellsworth county, 
Mr. Long, who is engaged in the cheese business. 
Mr. Long said : 

" Kansas is looked upon as a great beef-producing 
State, and we can certainly make as good cheese 
here as in Ohio, and can do it with less expense. 
Our cows cost less, and they net more. In Ohio it 
costs twenty-five dollars a year to keep a cow, in 
Kansas less than one-half that. Cheese in Ohio 
brings twelve and a half cents per pound ; mine 
brings eighteen and a half. Good cheese can be 
made in Kansas. Dairy farming is destined to 
become one of the most interesting and profitable 
branches of industry in Kansas." 



106 

Some one then asked, " How much cheese can you 
make from one gallon of milk?" Mr. Long an- 
swered, " In Ohio, one pound from one gallon, or 
ten pounds of milk ; here, one pound from eight and 
two-tJdrds pounds of milk. This is the quantity from 
the common cow ; from the Alderney^ we can make 
more." 

Dr. Eeynolds asked, " Do cows give as much milk 
here as there ? " Mr. Long thought they did, full as 
much. " The buffalo grass produced as much, and richer 
milk, than the tame grass.'' 




OTTAWA UNIVERSITY. 

W Dr. Sternberg said, "our season being longer we can 
have tivo months more for butter and cheese making.'' 

Mr. Long was asked about exporting his cheese, 
but he has no need ; he finds a ready market for all 
his in the State. Also about rennets. He sends to 
Utica, New York, and gets them at thirty cents, 
when they will cost fifty cents if bought here. 

The next letter is from Mr. Ernst Hohneck, a sur- 
veyor who has resided in Western Kansas about 
fourteen years, and is entirely familiar with the 



WESTERN KANSAS AND THE BUFFALO GRASS. 107 

country he talks about. This letter throws light 
upon the "desert" question. There has been great 
inquiry for that desert for several years, and of late 
it has come to be believed that the whole account 
of " a desert '' was a stupendous humbug of ancient 
geographers, but there has long been talk in scien- 
tific quarters about the " sand hills of western Kan- 
sas," which certainly must have had some foundation 
in fact. I have occasionally met a man who had 
seen them, but could get no precise information as 
to their location until the following letter came to 
hand. After describing various counties in that 
region, and showing that all are possessed of good 
water and good soil, with considerable quantities of 
timber, and coal opened of fair quality for fuel, he 
proceeds : 

" Eice county, south of Ellsworth, through which 
runs the Arkansas Eiver and several tributaries, is, 
with the exception of timber, which is rather scarce, 
a most beautiful county, and contains, I believe, a 
greater per centage of tillable land, than any other 
county in the State I know of. The southeast part 
is already somewhat settled, and a colony from Ohio 
is expected to settle on Plum Creek next spring. 
Cow Creek is also in this county. Around Fort 
Zarab, in Barton county, near the mouth of that 
fine stream where the Big Walnut empties into the 
Arkansas, the nucleus of quite a settlement is now 
forming, and about two hundred families are to settle 
along the River and Walnut next spring. The ad- 
vanc^e of a German colony, about ten families, set- 
tled eight miles above Zarah last spring, and raised 
quite a crop of corn, with pumpkins, melons, etc., 
without end. I have not a doubt but that the bot- 
toms of the Arkansas River, will turn out to be pro- 
digious corn land. 

" Walnut Creek Yalley runs in a westerly direction 
for over a hundred miles, with abundance of timber 



108 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

and water, and as fine bottoms as a man wants to 
see. The only drawback to the settlement of that 
part of our beautiful State, may be Indian difficulties. 

" In conclusion, let me give you the result of my 
observations during a residence of fifteen years in 
the State, the greater part of which I spent in the 
western part. 

" The story of the American Desert, as far as it 
relates to that portion of Kansas that lays north of 
the Arkansas Eiver, is a myth, and never had any 
foundation. That "belt of land," beyond which, 
according to early histories of Kansas, the Desert 
commenced, exists only in imagination. True, there 
is a range of sandhills, from one to two miles wide, 
on the west side of the Little Arkansas, as far north 
as the mouth of Jarvis Creek, emptying into Cow 
Creek, and also another narrow range of sandhills 
on the west side of Cow Creek, from the Plum 
Butes, on the old Santa Fe Eoad, extending, with 
intermissions, about ten miles north. But the land 
west of these hills is just as good as east of it. 

" I suppose the idea of this desert originated in this 
way: During that season when the buffalo roam 
north in immense numbers, they eat the whole 
country so closely that it looks to the casual observer 
entirely bare, and devoid of vegetation, Buffalo 
and even horses, will find sustenance on this very 
ground, it being the nature of the buffalo grass to be 
continually growing, and the part next to the 
ground, almost in it, being the most nutritous part, 
and very sweet ; horses, which are used to the plains, 
will graze on this very ground, when loose, in pref- 
erence to places, where the grass has not been 
pastured. Another peculiarity of the buffalo grass 
is, that it only grows in packed ground, and dies out 
as soon as the buffalo quits the country, and the 
action of the rains and frosts loosens the soil. After 
the buffalo have left a portion of the country for 



WESTERN KANSAS AND THE BUFFALO GRASS. 109 

good, in a few years single stools of blue stem grass 
will appear, which increase in size from year to year, 
until the whole country, which grew once the short 
buffalo grass, is covered with blue stem, and then 
has all the appearance of an agricultural country. 
I have watched this transformation ever since 1855, 
and it is a fact and no theory. Thousands of tons 
of prairie hay can be cut now, where ten years ago 
nothing but buffalo grass grew. Whoever opens a 
farm in a buffalo grass region, needs to plow his 
land deep^ from six to eight inches at leasts so as to 
prepare it at once for crops. And all this great 
region in the western part of the State, will be thus 
transformed shortly, and will be found to be the 
granary of the west." 

Upon receipt of this valuable letter I wrote to the 
author requesting him to explain why he confined 
his remarks to the region north of the Arkansas 
Eiver, in showing that the country was generally 
good, and that a few square miles of sand hills had 
been magnified into a boundless "desert." In reply 
the following letter came to hand : 

"When I spoke rather negatively of the country 
south of Arkansas river, I had in my mind a pear 
shaped tract of land, with its stem end near Fort 
Dodge, and the opposite about south of the mouth 
of Cow creek, which empties into the Arkansas in 
Eice county, with a width at its broadest part (south 
of Pawnee Eock, seventeen miles west of Zarah) of 
about sixty miles, which consists of a series of sand- 
hills, naked sandy flats, and bunch grass prairie. 
This part is entirely destitue of timber, but in most 
parts well watered, and having considerable salt 
water branches running through it. 

"The Arkansas river is also, with the exception of 
a strip of about fourteen miles running east from 
Fort Zarah, destitute of timber from below the 
mouth of Cow creek to the west line of the State, 



. jiiiiiiijiiii^ 




iiiP 'iiipi:iiiiii 



WESTERN KANSAS AND THE BUFFALO GRASS. Ill 

and beyond to near Fort Lyon. The Atchison, To- 
peka & Santa Fe Eailroad has been surveyed and 
located to Fort Dodge, which will open these wide 
and fertile bottoms to settlement. The sandy dis- 
trict, however,, spoken of above, will be a great graz- 
ing country, as the grass on it is very nutritious, 
and the configuration of the country affording a 
great deal of shelter to stock in the winter. South 
of this district lays a beautiful country, along the 
tributaries of the little Eed river, or Eed Fork of 
the Arkansas. Mulberry, Turkey, Medicine Lodge, 
Bluff creek, etc., are among these creeks. The soil 
is here red in all its shades, and every little thaw or 
rain, will color the streams red. 

" Two years ago this winter, I found the bottoms 
covered with the tallest blue stem grass. A great 
deal of winter grass, which we generally call June 
grass, grows also here. The country is also timbered 
with .Cottonwood, Cedar in great quantity on the 
bluffs, Mulberry, Elm, Walnut, Oak, Hackberry, and 
on the South Fork, with China tree. I found bodies 
of timber containing from forty to eighty acres. 
Kock is very scarce here ; the deepest canyon^ as 
well as the highest bluffs, are devoid of it. In my 
opinion, it will not be very long before this country 
will be the great winter quarters of the stock men 
of Western Kansas. As for shelter, there is nothing 
that will surpass it in these parts. 

" Since my last, I learned that about fifty claims are 
taken on Walnut creek, and the Arkansas, in the 
vicinity of Fort Zarah. So the Star of Empire is 
moving westward at a lively rate. It is some satis- 
faction to contemplate, that in fifteen years civiliza- 
tion has conquered two hundred and fifty miles of 
wilderness. 

Yours truly, 

ERNST HOHNECK." 



112 

Here is the new geography at last. Here is the " G. 
A. D." reduced in its extent to a small area, and then, 
still worse for the fictions of the past, even this sand 
hill district ^^luill be a great grazing country, as the grass 
on it is very nutritious, and the configuration of the coun- 
try affords a great deal of shelter to stock in the ivinter." 

At last we have " corralled " the " Great Amer- 
ican Desert," and we find it to be a well watered, 
pear shaped pasture field, good for summer and 
especially excellent for winter grazing. 

Others whom I have lately seen, who have been 
through this region, assure me that it greatly 
abounds in wild fruits — berries of different kinds, 
and several varieties of large and luscious plums and 
grapes. The sand hills north of the Arkansas, de- 
scribed by 3Ir. Hohneck, also produce an abundance 
of wild fruit and small scrub oaks. 

And yet it is easy to see how this fiction went 
abroad. All the sand hills spoken of by Mr. Hoh- 
neck, lie in the path of the old Santa Fe wagon 
road over which ten years ago two or three million 
dollars worth of goods were annually carried in 
wagons, and over which a stage coach ran. This 
road has been traveled for many years. Thirty 
years ago, teams from Chihuahua, in Mexico, hauled 
goods to that place, by this route, from St. Louis. 
Of course there was truth enough in the sandy part 
of the story, to account for the errors of the miser- 
able geographers. It is also true that as we near 
the base of the Eocky Mountains we enter upon a 
country covered with what seems to be a bed of 
sand and coarse gravel. At what point one leaves 
the soil of AVestern Kansas and enters the sandy 
regions of Colorado, I am unable to say, having only 
passed over the country in the night, by railroad. 
It is probable, however, that the transition is a 
gradual one, the finer portions of the sand and 
soil from the mountain bases having been washed 



WESTERN KANSAS AND THE BUFFALO GRASS. 113 

down toward the Missouri River. Even this sand of 
Colorado, however, is covered with our never-failing 
buffalo grass, and in the poorest localities, where 
this is partially crowded out by the Cactus, heavy 
crops are always grown by irrigation. Mr. Hohneck 
further ex2:)lains the barren appearance of the plains 
by showing how the buffalo eats the grass down close 
to the ground. The sweetness of the lower stalk of 
this grass is apparent to the taste of one who chews 
it. The little wild prairie dogs live chiefly on the 
lower stalks and roots of the buffalo grass, and 
"when they have pulled it all in one locality, they 
move their village to fresher fields. It is believed by 
frontiersmen that wherever prairie dogs establish 
their habitations, water may be found at a moderate 
depth by digging. The theory is reasonable, and is 
probably not less true than the' infallible test on 
more eastern prairies, by which a crawfish hole may 
always be followed to never failing water. 

In the first letter of Mr. Hohneck, an important 
suggestion is made about plowing these lands deep, 
the deeper the better. It is not simply that the 
rains may be caught and retained in a deep bed of 
Boil, and that rootlets may find nutriment deep in 
the moist earth, when they would dry out in a shal- 
low soil, but the action of the atmosphere, and of 
frost, is desirable to bring this hard earth into a 
l-)roper condition for producing crops. Kot that the 
earth is difficult to plow, or stiff and heavy like a 
clay soil, but it has been beaten by the storms of 
centuries, and trodden under foot by millions of 
buffalo, until it is so compact that air cannot enter 
it; and rain can hardly penetrate its surface. 

Among the most important objects accomplished 

by the plowing of any soil, is the exposure of its 

particles to the air, in order that certain chemical 

changes may take place, which induce the growth 

5* 



114 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

of vegetation. Especially do these soils of Western 
Kansas need to be plowed deep, that they may have 
the benefit of this ameliorating process. Here the 
STEAM PLOW is evcntuall}" to win its triumphs. On 
those broad fields, free from sloughs and miry places, 
there are possibilities open to inventors and large 
farmers in this direction, which are forbidden by the 
small lots, or stony land, or heavy clay soil, or deep 
mud, of eastern farms, or of other prairie States. 

THE CATTLE BUSINESS. 

The New York Tribune, of January 6, 1871, says: 
"The belt of beef supply is receding year by year. 
In 1866 only 44 head of Texas cattle reached this 
market. * "^ The chief supplies of beef 
already come from regions west of the Wabash, and 
south of the Ohio. If this is true of 1870, what 
may be expected in 1875, or even 1873 ? * * 

Evidently it is of no avail for the farmer east of the 
Wabash to contend with those vast plains, covered 
with the most nutritious grasses. The herdsman 
there can produce a three-year-old steer that will 
dress 550 pounds, as cheaply as the former can fat- 
ten a spring pig." 

It is easy to see why the cattle business cannot so 
readily be overdone as most other kinds of business. 
By the employment of sufficient capital and labor, 
manufacturers may in a few months, flood the mar- 
ket with goods and ruin the business. The necessi- 
ties or fashions of the day may also change, and fail 
the manufacturer. The farmers of the country are 
only limited in the amount of grain they raise, by 
the labor they choose to employ in seed time and 
harvest, and for this reason, in connection with the 
uncertainties of the weather, grain raisers in all 
parts of the world are liable to extreme fluctuations 
in the price of their products. 



THE CATTLE BUSINESS. 



115 



But it is evident that the supply of beef cattle 
is limited by the natural increase, and it is also evi- 
dent that it will not soon become unfashionable to 
eat beef. Therefore it is that everywhere the cattle 
business is among the most secure and certain of all 
occupations. But it needs no argument to show 
that a region abounding in such grasses, as we have 
described, with a plentiful supply of stock water, in 
a healthy climate, and in a region traversed by 




BLOCK IN HUMBOLDT. 

railroads, furnishing competition in freights, must 
distance all competitors in its attractions for stock jais- 
ers or- dealers. 

The business in Kansas is already immense. 
There were during the year 1870, about 200,000 head 
of cattle shipped out of Kansas, of which number 
about 150,000 consisted of Texas cattle, part of 
which were direct from Texas, while the remainder 
had been herded a few months in this State. Esti- 
mating 150,000 Texas cattle all around, at $30 per 
head, including those wintered here, and we have 



116 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

a sum of $4,500,000. The native stock averaged 
$50 per head, making for 50,000 head $2,500,000, or 
a gross total of $7,000,000, which is probably as close 
an approximation as can be made of the business. 

Texas cattle are descended from the Spanish cattle 
brought to America by the conquerors of Mexico, 
and the characteristics of the original stock have 
been liightened by their treatment and the climate 
in which they have been raised. No attempt is ever 
made to improve the stock by selecting breeders, and 
about the only attention a herd receives, is to brand 
the calves when young. They range at pleasure, 
summer and winter, in immense herds, and ar3 only 
driven together by the swiftest horsomen or caught 
with the lasso. None, or very few, of the cows are 
reserved for milk, and no calves killed, aiid the 
increase of the herds is therefore much more rapid 
than in those countries where a large share of 
calves go to the butcher, or are killed before they are 
old enough for veal. 

People sometimes talk of "Cherokee" cattle, and 
''Wichita mountain" cattle, and either confound 
them with Texas cattle, or class them as a distinct 
breed. They are cattle descended from the Texas 
stock, but bave been crossed with northern stock, 
which before the war was driven extensively into the 
Indian Territory — called from its principal tribe, the 
" Cherokee country." These crosses show all grades 
of stock, and at once show how easy it is to improve 
the original long horned, long legged, gaunt, race- 
horse breed of Texas cattle. It is becoming a very 
popular practice in Kansas, particularly on the west- 
ern and southern frontier, to purchase a herd of one 
or two year old Texas heifers, paying therefor from 
five to eight dollars per head, and cross them with 
the best bull the breeder can purchase. With a 
thorough bred or full blood short horn sire, the first 
cross is decidedly better than the common American 



THE CATTLE BUSINESS. 117 

stock. I will not stop to figure out the profits result- 
ing from this business, with the advantages here 
presented. 

The original Texas stock improves in this country 
— they broaden out and take on more flesh. This is 
undoubtedly owing to the climate, which is mucli 
more vigorous and bracing than their native plains. 
Yet, notwithstanding all that I have said, and much 
more of the same favorable sort, is true, there is a 
strong prejudice against Texas cattle, but uniformly, 
so far as I have observed, men who have dealt in 
this stock to any extent, and all who have bred from 
it, are favorably inclined toward it. At the same 
time nearly all are agreed that if a man have the 
means to buy all the cows he wishes to commence 
the business with, it is better to buy the best stock 
he can get, and then improve it as rapidly as pos- 
sible. 

Last fall, I met in Colorado John IS. Chisum, of 
Fort Concho, Texas. Mr. Chisum is one of those 
companionable frontiersmen who has the best in- 
stincts of a gentleman, and yet prefers to broil his 
slice of beef on a stick bef )re a camp fire, and wrap 
himself in a blanket on the open prairie with hi3 
saddle for a pillow, and all out doors for a bed room, 
rather than board at the Fifth Avenue Hotel. Now 
Chisum told me all about the " Texas cattle fever/' 
and this is the story : 

In their native condition the cattle range to please 
themselves. They get up and lie down ; graze early 
and late ; go to a salt lick for salt, or drink fresh 
water at pleasure, or if their appetite inclines, can 
browse on buds and bushes. By this life, they keep 
health}' and hearty and under such circumstances 
never have Texas fever, Spanish fever or any other 
fever or contageous disease. But in an evil hour for 
them, the owner decides to drive them north. A 
corrall or rail pen is built of great strength, but only 



118 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

large enough to hold the herd that is to be driven. 
Boys and men, mounted on swift horses, and armed 
with terrible whips, which in their hands crack like 
pistols, collect the trembling beasts, and holding 
them on a close range by day, pen them in the 
yard every night. From one to three months is 
occupied by this process, according to the size of 
the drove, or the means at the command of the 
drover. The owner of the drove is probably with 
it very little, or if with it he is probably indiflferent 
as to its necessities. The result is, that during the 
time of preparing to move the drove north, it is 
confined on a limited range, watered at irregular 
times, entirely deprived of salt, at night confined in 
the close pen, which often is deep with mud, and 
generally the poor creatures are kept in a constant 
state of excitement and privation, totally unlike 
their former free and easy life. 

By the time they are started on their journey 
they are falling off in flesh, and the drover hurries 
them forward with rapid marches, to get into 
market before they become too poor to sell. They 
go in droves of from 1,000 to 10,000 head, and upon 
the average one man in the saddle is required to 
each hundred head of cattle. On the "cattle trail," 
as the lines of travel are called, they have short 
feeding times, and close herding, and get no salt 
unless they cross a salt lick, (spots of earth where 
salt water oozes out and is evaporated, leaving salt 
upon the surface, to which all herbivorous animals 
resort, whether wild or tame, and with their tongues 
lick up the salt.) They often pass over considerable 
distances without water, and traveling in hot 
weather, and amid the dust raised by themselves, 
they become extremel}^ thirsty, and upon approach- 
ing the narrow ford at which a stream is crossed, 
they rush in headlong haste to reach the water. At 
narrow streams the crowding of those in the rear 



THE CATTLE BUSINESS. 119 

sends the foremost out without a full drink, and the 
reckless, hasty drivers add to the general hurry and 
excitement. 

The consequence of all this is, that the drove 
becomes feverish and diseased. Mr. Chisum says he 
can tell whether a drove is healthy or not, the mo- 
ment he goes among them, not only by their general 
appearance, but especially by a peculiar smell emitted 
by those which have the Texas fever. He says he 
never had this disease in any drove he handled, 
because he took proper care of them, and the disease 
was never communicated by one of his droves to 
an}^ other cattle, and he has taken many Texas 
cattle among northern cattle during the worst sea- 
son of the year. 

It is a peculiarity of this disease, that the cattle 
among which.it originates do not die, but only those 
northern cattle with which they come in contact. 
It is also true that Texas cattle, after being wintered 
in this or any other northern region, are as liable to 
die with the Texas fever, if afterward exposed to it, 
as our finest northern stock. Cattle die with this 
disease, which have not been among the diseased 
Texas cattle, but only ranged upon ground and 
drank from water lately frequented by a diseased 
Texas drove. Cold weather, destroys the influence 
of the disease and it is not communicated after 
heavy frosts come, and therefore the laws of Kansas 
do not permit Texas cattle to be driven into this 
State during the period between the first day of 
March and the first day of December of each year, 
and at no time are they permitted to be driven east 
of the 6th principal meridian, but they may be 
shipped through the State on railroads at any time. 

Texas cattle are largely bought in the fall and 
kept through the winter, and until they fatten on 
the grasses of the succeeding summer, when they 
are in fine condition for beef. Those who have only 



120 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

seen this stock immediately after its arrival from 
Texas, by the mode of driving that our friend 
Chisum describes, really know nothing about its 
quality. The remark of a blind man to whom a 
friend was boasting of a fine horse, is also applica- 
ble to these cattle: ''Is your horse fat?" "Yes." 
" Then of course he looks well." 

I quote from volume seven, Transactions of Illinois 
State Agricultural Society : 

" Butchers tell us that Texas cattle are better for 
packing than ordinary western cattle, the meat 
being finer grained, richei', and more tender than 
the rough, coarse stock hitherto shipped from the 
west. As a matter of profit they are considerably 
ahead of native cattle. The hides are worth from 
fifteen to twenty per cent more, and the yield of 
tallow is far larger." 

Some of the fattest cattle ever killed in this State 
were corn fed Texas steers, but they were brought 
here when young, and had wintered here two or 
three seasons, and become accustomed to our climate 
and grasses, and to eating corn. 

Mr. Andrew Wilson, of Topeka, is one of our 
most successful dealers in Texas cattle, and he has 
kindly furnished me with many items about the 
business. He buys four and five year old steers in 
the fall, at about $22.50 per head, averaging 900 
pounds. In winter he has kept about 300 head 
together, and in summer, 1000 to 2000 head. Sum- 
mer and winter he provides one man and horse for 
every hundred head. It is verj^ important to salt 
freely and let the stock have constant access to 
water. Heretofore he has wintered in Eastern Kan- 
sas, on prairie hay and corn stalks in the field, (the 
latter being the best) and a few bushels of corn per 
head. Hereafter he intends to graze his Texas 
cattle the year round in Western Kansas. Last 
winter he kept 3000 head and sold in SejDtember for 



THE CATTLE BUSINESS. 121 

$4.25 per hundred, gross weight, the average being 
1312 pounds (excepting 350 cows). Another party 
kept 1000 head, bought from the same Texas herd, 
and sold at the time Mr. Wilson did, and only 
received $40 per head, a difference on 1000 head of 
$15,760. This loss was caused solely by short feed- 
ing and lack of care. Last summer, Mr. Wilson's 
Texas cattle gained about 406 pounds per head on 
grass. He usually sells to buyers who come into 
the country. For fattening exclusively on grass, he 
prefers Texas cattle, but to feed on corn, he prefers 
native stock. Here are his figures : 

1000 head good Texas steers at $20...; $20,000 

Interest upon same one year, at 10 per cent 2,000 

Winter care in Eastern Kansas, with salt, feeding, etc,, at $10 10,000 

Summer care salt, etc., at $3 3,(t00 

Interest for six months on amount paid for care and feed, $13,000, at 10 

par cent, per annum 650 

Add 3 per cent for losses of cattle 600 

$36,250 
Average weight 1300 pounds, at 4 cents gross, equal $52 per head. 

Sales of 970 head, at $52 60,440 

Deduct total cost and interest 36,250 

$14,190 

The above estimate puts all expenses at the high- 
est figures. If the selling price falls below the above, 
of course the buying price for the fresh stock will 
decrease proportionally. In grazing through the 
season on buffalo grass, he estimates the entire cost 
for the year not to exceed six dollars per head, and 
while the losses will sometimes be greater, the profit 
will be much more than by keeping the cattle on 
hay and corn. 

If a stock raiser have the capital he advises to 
buy good native heifers, but from his own observa 
tion he is satisfied that the first cross of Texas stock 
with Short Horn, makes a stock fully equal to our 
common cattle, and Texas heifers, which have their 
first calves in this country, and are subject to ordi- 
nary herding, become gentle and easily handled. 
6 



122 



HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 



Mr. Wilson is a native of Ohio, and has lived in 
Sangamon county, Illinois. He considers, as do all 
who are familiar with it, that Kansas is the best 
stock State 3^et opened. Its unsurpassed wild 
grasses, and abundant streams, with gravelly or 
rocky bottoms, place it far ahead of the best por- 
tions of Illinois for grazing purposes. He has some 
of the finest stock in the State, among which is the 




PUBLIC SCHOOL, POMONA. 

Short Horn bull of which a life-like cut is given else- 
where. 

Western farmers talk of stall-feeding cattle, when 
corn in the ear is thrown to them. They are also 
fed hay or permitted to run in standing cornstalks, 
from which the corn has been picked. Frequently 
the cornstalks are cut and put before them, ears and 
all. In either case it is desirable that there be two 
fields or yards, and fattening hogs are each day put 
in the yard occupied by the cattle, the day pre- 



I 



THE CATTLE BUSINESS. 123 

Yiously. Upon the farm of Lieut.-Groyernor Elder 
in Franklin county, I found the husked corn placed 
in troughs, conveniently elevated on legs, and th 
hogs running with the cattle. He thinks, after sev- 
eral years careful experiment, that he saves twenty- 
five bushels to each steer by husking his corn, instead 
of feeding in the shock. He fattens annually about 
200 head, feeding them all they will eat for six 
months, which is about eighty bushels of corn each. 
Hay or corn fodder is also given. Corn is placed in 
the troughs twice a day, and all feeding is done with 
the strictest regularity. Feeding twenty to forty 
bushels to a steer, he deems, as do all experienced 
feeders, almost a waste, as they are not made good 
beef, and will not do any better on grass the next 
summer than cattle which have had but two or three 
bushels given them the last month of feeding time. 

Four-year-old native steers in the fall are worth 
3i to 4 cents gross, weighing 1,300 to 1,400 pounds. 
They gain by six months feeding about 250 pounds, 
and sell for 6 J to 7 cents gross, in the spring when 
^rass-fed cattle are not in the market. An equal 
number of hogs are put with the cattle, to take their 
^aste and leavings, and the net profit on each hog is 
ten dollars. By this method his corn nets him above 
interest on capital invested, from 80 cents to $1.00 
per bushel. The only shelter his fat cattle have 
from the wind, is a gentle bluff, upon the south side 
of which is his feeding ground. 

I give below the annual average prices of beef 
cattle for six years, at the cattle market, Chicago, 
Illinois, taken from the report of the United States 
Commissioner of Agriculture, Hon. Horace Capron. 
The prices are per hundred pounds gross weight. 
It should be noted that the great range of prices for 
each year, results chiefly from the difference in qual- 
ity of cattle. It is always bad management to send 
poor cattle to market ; 



124 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 



Prices of heef cattle in Chicago^ Illinois^ per hundred, 
gross iceight. 

18&4 $2.56 to $5.72 1867 $3.52 to 8.02 

1865 2.94 to 8.i6 1868 3.41 to 8.10 

1866 3.53 to 7.72 1869 3.79 to 7.66 

Average price for six years, $3.24 to $7.61. The 
average expense of shipment jDer head, from the Mi.s- 
souri JRiver to Chicago, is about five dollars. 

Arrangements have been perfected by which it is 
expected to send fresh beef and buffalo to New York 
and other eastern cities from Kansas, during this 
summer, in Eankin's Patent Eefrigerator cars, an 
invention of one of our citizens, Mr. T. L. Eankin, 
of Lyndon, Osage county. Experimental trips were 
made last year with eminent success. The car is 
nearly air tight, and contains ice, and beef in quarters 
can be sent in perfect order, at less rates than when 
shipped alive, as thirty head can be carried, while 
but eighteen live bullocks usually go in a car. Meat 
was carried 100 hours in one of these cars, from 
July 25 to August 1st, 1870, at a temperature of 50 
to 55 degrees. The walls are composed of fifteen 
separate and tight partitions, made of wood and 
paper, with spaces between. 

The Hearth and Home, of New York City, for 
February 4, 1871, contains an illustrated article upon 
this subject, showing that our exhaustless meat 
supply is to be carried to the door of our eastern 
friends. 

A new class of stock cars are also put on to rail- 
roads this year for the first time, called Steel's 
palace stock cars. In these cars, cattle are watered 
and fed while in transit, and the time to New York 
or any other distant point is less than half that 
required under the old system of transporting live 
stock. 

The foundations are being laid for giving Kansas 



THE SHEEP BUSINESS. 125 

a reputation, as to the quality of its stock, equaled 
only by the profit with which it is reared. 

Many very fine breeding animals have been brought 
to this State at great expense to their owners. 
Among those who have considerable herds of thor- 
ough-bred and full blood Short Horn cattle, are Judge 
N. L. Chaffe & Sons, Manhattan ; Andrew Wilson, 
Topeka ; John Inlow, Olathe ; I. K Insley, Oska- 
loosa; Wm. S. Pickrell, Ottawa; Mr. Moler, of 
Anderson county. Among those with thorough- 
bred or full blood Jersey cattle, are, I. S. Kalloch, 
Lawrence; E. A. Smith, Lawrence; Eev. Winfield 
Scott, Leavenworth, and others. Hon. S. 0. Pome- 
roy. United States Senator, also has upon his farm 
at Muscotah, some thorough-bred Holstein cattle, 
which are famous for combining the qualities of 
good milkers, docility, size, and a readiness to take 
on fat. 

Ail those gentlemen mentioned above, and many 
others, have fine herds of swine, including fine stock 
of all the best breeds ; Berkshire, Essex, Poland 
China, Suflfolks, Chester White, etc. Alfred Gray, 
Secretary of Kansas State Agricultural Society, has 
upon his farm at Wyandotte, probably the finest lot 
of Berkshires in the west. He has visited all the 
breeders of note in the L^nited States and the Cana- 
das, and has purchased the best animals he could find. 
He has made this business a speciality for several 
years, with eminent success. 

THE SHEEP BUSINESS. 

Perhaps there is no branch of ordinary husbandry 
at which one should serve a longer apprenticeship 
before enter! Lg upon it for himself, than the raising 
of sheep. Sheep must have care and attention to 
thrive anywhere, and it is not advisable for men, 
or for boys as has often been the case in Kansas, 



THE SHEEP BUSINESS. 127 

who are utterly ignorant of the business to com- 
mence it with a large fiock. 

The cattle business is so easily learned, gives so 
little trouble, and is so safe and profitable, that 
nearly all who have any inclination to the stock 
business, seek herds of cattle rather than flocks of 
sheep, but there are many million head of sheep in 
Ohio and States west of it, that must in some way 
be handled by their owners, who are greatly dispiri- 
ted by the low price of wool. Such flocks should 
be driven to Kansas. There are also multitudes 
who own poor or profitless farms in those States, 
who understand the sheep business, and could easily 
and profitably convert their farms into sheep and 
bring their sheep here to be converted into cash, 
not by selling, but by keeping. For the benefit of 
these, and other interested people, let us glance at 
the sheep business in Kansas. 

The pasturage is boundless and it is good. If 
left to themselves sheep will keep the grass down in 
certain places by close feeding. The short fresh 
herbage is more sweet and nutritious, and the 
ground is also drier under their feet than would be 
tall grass, from which the dews and rains do not so 
quickly dry out: This is also an advantage in cases 
of foot rot. From this disease many flocks of sheep 
have been cured by bringing them to Kansas. The 
climate is more congenial to sheep as well as man, 
than the damp atmosphere of regions east of the 
Mississippi, and our comparative freedom from mud 
is another great advantage over the older western 
States. By herding sheep on a moderatel}'' close, 
rather than a wide range, never driving or hurrying 
them, and giving them a plenty of water and salt, 
they are kept during the summer at a trifling cost, 
and in good condition. 

It is the almost universal opinion among men of 
experience, that sheep do not do as well if fed ex- 



128 Hutchinson's Kansas. 

clusively on prairie hay. It is said that it has a 
constipating effect upon them, which it does not 
upon other stock, and that to correct this, a small 
feed of corn should be given every day through the 
winter, giving them hay and corn as soon as the 
frost strikes the grass. By commencing to feed corn 
early, a very little with prairie hay will keep them 
in excellent order. An amount equal to about a 
half bushel per head for the winter, is considered 
sufficient with good hay. If sheep are fed upon corn 
fodder, as is frequently and profitably the case, this 
is deemed sufficient. Many feed sheaf oats instead 
of corn, and think them even better. Bdt for large 
profits in wintering sheep'^in Eastern Kansas, one 
should have blue grass pastures or winter rye for 
grazing. With access to either, there are not upon 
the average, two weeks in the entire winter, but 
that sheep will keep fat without other feed. All 
sheep do better to be protected from the occasional 
winter rains, and I think it wrong to ask people to 
bring their flocks here without informing them that 
they will be well repaid in money as well as in com- 
fort of mind, b}^ providing rough shelter for their 
ewes. 

But the best place in Kansas for keeping large 
flocks of sheep, yes the best place in the United 
States, all things considered, is the buffalo grass 
region of Western Kansas. The altitude and dry- 
ness of the atmosphere and consequent freedom from 
disease in these regions, the comparative exemption 
from winter rains, the boundless range upon the 
short, sweet and nutritious grasses which afford 
feed of about equal value the year round, the abun- 
dant supply of pure and palatable water, the over- 
hanging bluff's and ledges, and skirts of timber a id 
various conveniences for making a shelter for the 
weak and helpless, the excellent grass for hay, of 
which a few pounds per head should be put up as a 



THE SHEEP BUSINESS. 129 

contingent provision against storms, the convenience 
by railroads for marketing mutton or wool, and 
finally the fact that all these advantages are offered 
absolutely without cost, these inducements ought to 
bring millions of sheep to Kansas this year. Sheep 
do not need grain when they have access to buffalo 
grass. Many flocks are herded in New Mexico and 
Colorado without feed, excepting grass, and without 
shelter except timber or bluffs, and the business is 
extremely profitable if taken in hand by those who 
understand and like it. 

In that region two or three shepherds often start 
off with their flock of 2,000 head, taking a team, 
perhaps of oxen, and a wagon laden with provisions, 
a tent, and conveniences for camping. They permit 
the flock to range pretty much at pleasure, follow- 
ing with the team at the rate of one l^p five miles 
per day, and camping when night overtakes them. 
Having several trained shepherd dogs, who keep on 
the outskirts of the flock, it is not much trouble, by 
taking turns on guard, to keep the little prairie 
wolves, or coyotes, at a distance. At times finding 
good pasturage, water and shade, they may remain 
a week at one encampment. They keep goats or 
a cow or two for milk, while the flock supplies them 
with fat and juicy meat. 

This romantic, easy-going and vagabond sort of 
life, is followed from shearing time until cold 
weather, by which time they will have returned to 
the vicinity of their homes. Here they find the 
grass which has been growing all summer, ready 
cured for winter use, and their flocks can stay on 
the "home range" for several months. There are 
many puny boys and men, dragging out a pampered 
and miserable existance in the east, to whom a sum- 
mer's campaign of this sort on the high, rolling, 
healthy pasture fields of Western Kansas, would give 
a new lease of life. Health for the feeble and good 



130 



HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 



pay for all, awaits those who enter the sheep busi- 
ness in those regions. 

I speak with the utmost confidence, when saying 
that Western Kansas offers extraordinary advan- 



^-^^ 



iiil i 



..v^ 



iiAkV// 




TJNIVERSALIST CHURCH, LAWRENCE. 

tages for raising wool or mutton. I speak with 
feeling when I call to mind the fact that there are 
thousands of wool-growers in "the east who are upon 
the verge of ruin from the low price of wool, coupled 
with the high price of land. They are almost ready 
to give away their flocks, but by bringing them here 



THE SHEEP BUSINESS. 131 

they can, even at present prices, not only save them- 
selves, but enrich themselves at the business. Mr. 
Jesse Connell, a wealthy farmer near Leavenworth 
City, who has lived upon the border for thirty years^ 
informed me some years ago, that with wool at 
twenty-five cents per pound at Leavenworth, he 
could double his money every year on sheep, by 
taking them where there was free pasturage, and by 
giving them personal supervision. 

This subject is so important and is fraught with 
so much of good to those wool-growers who will 
heed what is proven, that I solicited a letter upon 
the subject from Dr. Bocking, of Alma, Wabaunsee 
county, who has had extensive experience in many 
parts of the world, including South America and 
Australia. His reply is given as follows : 

"Kansas by its climate, soil, water, ' and short 
winters, is eminently a wool growing country, and 
was selected for a home by me four jears ago. My 
experience on sheep in Europe and in the Branda 
Oriental del Uruguay of South America, during four 
years, (from 1857 to 1861,) gave me a taste for wool- 
raising, having had under my superintendency on 
Mrs. Wendelstadt's farm, on the Eio Negro, as many 
as 72,000 head. 

^' To commence with the trade, one has to decide 
himself beforehand, if he wants to raise for the 
butcher or for the improvement of wool, both being 
a business altogether apart, and much depending on 
the circumstances given. To go sure, and I intend 
to walk that path, raising for the carcass is for the 
present state of our communications the most 
advisable, and may afterwards, when a good founda- 
tion is laid, easily be turned to the other. If a man 
with large means intends to raise for wool merely, 
or principally, I leave it open to him to select Ne- • 
grettes or Combwools, as both will pay with neces- 



132 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

sary care ; and although I belong to the old merino 
school. I am last to deny the qualities of a Cotswold. 

" The stock to commence with, is our native stock 
anyhow, and this sheep can be had amply in Michi- 
gan, some parts of Iowa, northern Illinois, and the 
very best in Ohio. Keep out of Missouri flocks, or 
elsewhere, where there is principally a timber pas- 
ture. Not more than a thousand head should be 
herded in one flock, except where there are wethers 
enough already to be herded separately with the 
rams to' the middle of November, when the latter 
may be put among the ewes for a fortnight. 

"For a shepherd not everybody is tit, the more 
the man loves his kind of stock, and the more easy 
tempered he is, the better it will be for the owner. 
An old man will generally do better than young 
ones, and rather abstain from the aid of dogs if you 
are not convinced of the phlegm of your herdsman 
and the thorough training of your collies. Fat 
flocks can not be attained with a lad exhausting his 
pony and his sheep with seedless disturbance. 
About the summer care, much need not be told. 
Turn the flock out after dew, that they have ample 
time yet to fill before eleven, then let them lay down 
to ruminate, and past the midday heat herd them 
slowly homeward, not forgetting the water, because 
contrary to the general opinion, your sheep are great 
drinkers. But starting from the siesta, (range,) 
let the herdsman look after sleepy lambs that they 
get the necessary awakening. When the flies be- 
come very troublesome, I find it better to stay all 
night on some lofty spot, rather than to shut them 
up in the corrall. In winter, as sheds are mostly 
nothing but ^'pia desideria," let your flock enjoy the 
most protected spot of timber accessible to you. Do 
not grow impatient when you see the ewes' wool 
hanging loose around their sides early in spring, it 
is not yet clipping time. The lambs should not 



THE SHEEP BUSINESS. 133 

come before the middle of April, and they should all 
be there at the first of May. That the owner 
morning and evening be always at the spot to 
inspect the tail of his flock is a matter of course ; 
of foot-rot and divers complaints, he will not find 
much, and a little pine tar in an eggshell will gen- 
erally perform the cure, but itch in rainy seasons 
he will find to beware of Of herbs poisonous to 
sheep, there is not a single one known to me in 
Kansas. 

" Now about the dollars and cents. To keep less 
than five hundred will not pay, and many a good 
farmer of my acquaintance has become sheep-sick 
by a little flock that annoyed him by its intrusions 
and daily damages in summer in the fields, and in 
winter on the haystacks and in the orchard. The 
sheep are to be herded and kept under a careful eye 
all the time. You cannot turn them out at large like 
horses and cattle. But with eight hundred ewes 
(as a minimum) and thirty-two rams, the business 
will pay. With eight hundred, the wool, (four 
pound a piece, and at an average price of twenty-two 
cents per pound, at the nearest railroad depot) will 
pay the expenses, (herdsman, hay, shelter, salt, loss, 
etc.,) and the lambs will be your profit, but with a 
thousand your books will show other results, and 
the more if you ship your fleece directly east. My 
experimental flock gave me 75 per cent twin lambs, 
of good constitution, and as we need not, in Kansas, 
kill the buck lambs for want of milk in the mothers* 
udders, which is the case on the Rio de la Platte and 
in Australia, by the first of September your young 
ones will hardly be discernible from the old ones. 
Your expended capital of $3.00 will bring you 80 
cents interest in wool, which is equal to the running 
expenses and customary losses, and you have besides 
a sure ofl'spring that will double your principal cap»- 
ital every two years, as sure as death and taxes, if 



134 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. ^^, 

you apply the necessary 'care, and if extraordinary 
losses do not occur. Is there any other honest busi- 
ness that can beat that? Our ^-rater is clear, sum- 
mer care costs nothing, and hay you can make on 
Uncle Sam's realms as much as you please for a 
dozen years to come. 

"Now good bye. For the different breeds and the 
general management, lots of books are open, and 
Orange, Judd & Co., in New York, will be happy to 
sell them to you. All I want to add are my first 
words: Kansas is a wool-growing country, if there 
is any, and open to enterprise and energy for every- 
body, who takes naturally an interest in animals 
and raises them as nature teaches." 

From T. C. Hill, Esq., of Americus, Lyon county, 
I received the following figures, which show one of 
his transactions in the sheep business, in buying a 
lot of poor run down sheep : 

Dr. Cr. 

600 sheep at $1.25 $750 200 to butcher at $3.00 $600 

Attendance 6 months at $40 240 Fleeces of 350,5 lbs, at 28 cts 490 

Herding 4 months 125 200 lambs at $1.50 300 

Feedofpon anddog 25 350 old sheep at $2.50 875 

600 bushels corn SOO 50 pelts ,. .. 30 

Rough fodder 100 

Saltabbl., per month 25 Total $2,295 

Interest 60 Deduct expenses $1,625 

Total $1,625 Net profit $670 

If one attended his own flock, 

add care as above $365 

$1,035 

The remainder of this flock after above sales, Mr, 
Hill let out for three years, he to receive two pounds 
of wool per head each year, and the original num- 
ber to be returned in good order, or failing in the 
latter particular, he received $2.50 per head for each 
missing sheep. He says, after an experience of 
twelve years in Kansas, that one good man — he em- 
ploys no other — will care for 2,000 head in the sum- 
mer, (being mounted,) and 1,000 head in winter. 



MULE BREEDING. 135 

He feeds no prairie hay after the middle of January. 
If sheej) cannot have corn stalks, sheaf oats^ winter 
rye or blue grass, give them corn and allow them to 
range the prairies in the middle of the day for rough 
feed. 

MULE BREEDING. 

From Mr, J. Eeynolds, of Longton, Howard county, 
member of the House of Eepresentatives from that 
county, I obtained the following: It will require 
two men to care for 100 mares and one jack. Colts 
should come in April. The average loss of mares by 
death, until they are fourteen years old, will not 
exceed two per cent. Loss among mules next to 
nothing. In the fall the mules are separated from 
the mares, and an old white mare put among them 
with a bell on, who at once becomes their leader. 
It is believed that the older and more worthless she 
may be the more attached do the mules become. 
The mules of all ages are kept together and it costs 
no more to handle them than so many cattle, while 
they will thrive on coarser food and under greater 
exposure. The mares need a little grain in the 
winter. It is a very low estimate to say that 80 
mules can be sold from 100 mares each year. Good 
mares for this purpose can be bought for $100 each. 
A first rate jack should be bought, and he will cost 
from $500 to $1000. The mules are quick sale at the 
breeder's farm, and are worth from $75 to $100 
each at two years of age, and $300 per span, unbro- 
ken, when three years old. I shall give my readers 
an opportunity to figure out the profits of the busi- 
ness, which they can do from data already furnished. 
I believe that if a man understands this business and 
likes it, there is more money in it for a term of ten 
years than in any other branch of stock business. 

Mr. Eeynolds brought from Wisconsin about 25 



136 HUTCHISON'S KANSAS. 

fine horses, among which are two thorough bred 
brood mares, by Lexington, one by imported West 
Australian, one by Cheatham, also brood mares, 
colts and filleys, by Creighton, Escape, Patchen, 
Daniel Boon, Leopold, Bald Chief, Swygart, Green's 
Bashaw, etc. He also brought Escape, by imported 
King of Simirie, dam thorough bred. Also a trotting 
stallion, Leopold, since purchased by I. S. Kalloch, 
of Lawrence. 

TAME GRASSES. 

The question, "can you raise tame grasses?" has 
been asked in every new settlement from the Atlan- 
tic seaboard to Kansas. Thirty or forty years ago 
it is said to have been a matter of doubt in Ohio, 
and when I first came to Illinois from Yermont, 
seventeen years ago, it was discussed pro and con, 
and half the settlers were convinced, without expe- 
riment, that timothy and clover would not succeed 
on the prairies. 

The same question is now discussed in some por- 
tions of Kansas and among some people, but any 
man who will travel through the older settled coun- 
ties of Eastern Kansas, will be convinced that the 
question no longer admits of discussion. About 
Fort Leavenworth timothy and clover has produced 
a good crop of hay for mtvuy years. In Wyandotte 
county are blue grass pastures, which have been fed 
twenty-five years and are constantly improving. 
The northeastern portion of Johnson county is 
nearly all thick set with blue grass. Eev. Mr. John- 
son, the old missionary among the Shawnee Indians, 
used to carry blue grass seed in his pocket, and 
scattered it whenever he saw a spot of broken 
prairie sod, where fresh earth was exposed by a 
gopher, or the rooting of hogs, or the deep track of 
a horse, etc. From this it has spread all through 



TAME GRASSES. 137 

that vicinity. Wherever in Kansas the old Indian 
traders, or other travelers from the blue grass 
regions east of Kansas, were in the habit of camp- 
ing, there bltie grass is now abundant, and is rapidly- 
spreading. I am speaking of Kentucky blue grass, 
Toa Fretensis. It grows during the entire season 
excepting in mid-summer, and it is therefore a feed 
for all seasons of the year excepting summer, when 
it is better not to put stock upon it. Mr. Tipton, of 
Anderson county, successfully seeded a quarter sec- 
tion to this grass ten years ago, by sowing the seed 
in the fall upon the prairie sod, and then harrowing 
it thoroughly. It catches easily upon plowed 
ground, by sowing in the fall or winter. 14 lbs. of 
common threshed seed, 6 lbs. of clean, or 2 lbs. of 
extra clean — which can hardly be obtained — will 
seed an acre. Clean seed is evidently better than 
seed in the chaff for sowing on raw (unplowed) 
prairie, as it will more readily sink into the soil and 
take root. Once established in any locality, the seed 
is carried by stock, or blown by the wind, as well as 
spreading by its roots, and it will take possession of 
all Eastern Kansas in a few years. This soil and 
climate is peculiarly congenial to it, and nowhere 
else does it appear as promising, except in the 
famous blue grass regions of Kentucky. It is the 
most profitable grass in the world, and unless a lawn 
mower is to be used frequently, it is our best lawn 
grass. 

Orchard grass, Dactylis Glornerata, has been sown 
by several farmers, and furnishes better feed during 
midsummer than blue grass. It can also be cut for 
hay, as it grows tall, much like timothy, excepting 
that its head resembles herds grass or red toj). Blue 
grass does not make hay, it being strictly a grazing 
grass. Timothy and clover also do well here. Tim- 
othy furnishes very good winter pasturage. I know 
6* 



138 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

of a field of thirty acres in Franklin county, which 
has been fed all winter, keeping green and fresh, 
excepting a few of the most severe days. There 
can be no doubt that Eastern Kansas is unsurpassed 
as a tame grass region. About the most profitable 
use to which land can be put, is to seed it to blue 
grass. Allow it to grow four to six months and turn 
upon it during the winter stock that has been grazing 
on the open prairie. There is yet abundant summer 
range in Eastern Kansas, and the capacity of this 
region for producing tayne grass and corn, has made 
it famous as a beef producing country. Stock may 
be raised with great profit in Eastern Kansas, and 
it is the only part of the State where feeding to 
corn has yet been practiced. The time is not very 
distant, however, when Eastern Kansas will all be 
fenced with Osage Orange hedges, grown at a cost 
of less than fifty cents per rod, and stock will be 
raised in Western Kansas and taken to the blue 
grass meadows and rich corn fields of the eastern 
part of the State to be finished off for the best mar- 
ket prices. 

FRUIT GROWING. 

Our limited space forbids any lengthy dissertation 
upon the general subject of fruit growing. Here, as 
elsewhere, the nurseryman -and orchardist must exer- 
cise patience and care, if he would be successful, but 
the soil and climate certainly are very favorable to 
the growth of plants, trees and vines, and to the 
production of fruit. The best evidence I can furnish 
upon this point is to present cuts showing the exact 
size of the Great Gold Medal awarded to Kansas, 
over all other States, at the national exhibition at 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1869, for which I am 
indebted to Geo. T. Anthony, Editor Kansas Farmer. 

Kansas is not entirely exempt from the vicissitudes 
of climate which make fruit growing so precarious 



FURIT GROWING. 



139 



in nearly all parts of the United States, and the 
peach crop is probably no more certain than in 
Southern Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. The apple and 
pear orchards are very promising, and small fruits 
are grown successfully. The capacity of Western 
Kansas as a fruit region has not been tried, but from 
the character of the soil, from its altitude of 2,000 
feet or more, and from the extraordinary growth of 
wild fruit there found, I am of the opinion that the 
sandy hills and slopes described by Mr. Hohneck, in 
the vicinity of the Arkansas River, will prove very 
favorable to the production of fine fruits. At my 




KANSAS FRUIT MEDAL'. 

request, Messsrs. Topping, nurserymen and fruit 
growers at Ottawa, prepared the following brief 
description of their method and its results in small 
fruit culture. 

' It is folly for a new settler to wait years without 
fruit, for his apple trees to bear, when he can have 
abundance of delicious fruit the first and second 
years by a judicious planting of small fruits. Ear- 



140 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

liest in the season is the rhubarb, or pie plant, yield- 
ing considerable for the family the first year. Next 
the strawberry, most delicious of all fruits, lasting 
four weeks. Then follows the raspberry. Next in 
close succession follows the blackberry and then the 
grape, all of which are in full bearing before the first 
specimen apple is produced from trees planted at the 
same time. The experience of fruitgrowers in Kan- 
sas for several years has placed the success and profit 
of small fruit culture beyond a doubt. 

'' Strawberries. — Our first crop of strawberries illus- 
trates what can be realized in one year without extra 
care and without manure. We took great care to 
procure the ]pure Wilson's Albany, as we had known 
of failures resulting from inqmriiy of stock planted. 

" Soil — Authorities usually recommend sandy loam. 
Yet we used such as we had, a heavy prairie loam, 
dark and deep, nearly level. It had been under cul- 
tivation three years, and cropped w^ith corn. 

'^ Cultivation. — We plowed about 12 inches deep 
and pulverized well — planted in rows four feet apart 
and twelve inches apart in rows — used the Moline 
fine-tooth cultivator, drawing it together as the young 
plants spread out each side of the row, which finally 
altogether prevented cultivation about August. 
Mulching in winter was done with clean straw about 
2 inches deep. 

'^ Results. — The next spring over 4000 quarts of 
strawberries wel-e gathered from this bed of seven- 
eighth of an acre, the sales netting $865, or at the 
rate of fully $1000 per acre. We made sales at 
Ottawa and other towns in this State. The entire 
expense of planting, cultivating and picking was not 
more than $250. 

"Raspberries — Are almost as successfully raised. 
Planted four by six feet they yield a partial crop in 
one year and almost a full crop the second year. We 
plant chiefly a variety of black cap which we brought 



FRUIT GROWING. 141 

from southern Illinois, which appears to be identical 
with the so called Mammoth Cluster, and yields large 
crops annually. 

" Blackberries — Are completely successful here — no 
larger crops anywhere. The true Kittatinny, the 
favorite, both in quality, fruitfulness and hardiness. 

'* The Grape — The grape for the million here as 
elsewhere is the Concord — but other varieties appear 
almost equally successful. Planted 8 by 8 feet they 
commence bearing the second year, and thus far no 
failures of crop have occurred and no diseases have 
appeared to damage the fruit. 

'' All kinds of fruit here are remarkably free from 
any stings of insects. Apples and peaches as well as 
grapes and small fruits are perfect in development. 

" We have chiefly used the Robinson trench plow, 
manufactured in Ottawa by the Robinson plow com- 
pany, in preparing prairie sod for fruit planting. We 
plowed in late fall and early winter, and by spring 
the soil was in best condition. The forward share 
of this plow cuts the sod about 3 inches deep, which 
is laid at the bottom of the furrow and the next share 
'Cuts the subsoil about 4 inches below, and this is 
thrown over the sod, burying it so deeply that it is 
smothered. Four heavy horses will break about IJ 
acres per day with this plow. 

'' The best season for breaking raw prairie is in 
May, when a crop of corn can be raised at once; but 
one great advantage of this plow is that it can be 
done with good' results in the fall, when ordinary 
breaking would be worse than useless." 

Mr. Wm. L. G. Soule, a nurseryman near Lawrence, 
writes me as follows : 

" The largest and most thrifty orchard I have seen 
in Kansas is near Yinland, on a light sandy ridge, 
the land having received no manure, and cultivated 
with some kind of crops between the trees every 
year since they were planted. 



142 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

" The following varieties of apples have done well 
in Douglas county, and I think in all other parts of 
the State : 

''Early Harvest, Eed June, Eed Astrachan, and 
Early Strawberry for summer; Maiden Blush, Fa- 
meuse, (or Snow,) Fall Wine, Eambo, Duchess of 
Oldenburg and Lowell for autumn ; and for winter 
the Wine Sap, Janet, Large Striped Pearmain, Eome 
Beauty, Missouri Pippin, Kansas Keeper, Baldwin, 
Ehode Island Greening, Jonathan, Milan, Mother, 
Willow Twig, Golden Eussett, Fallawater, Swaar, 
White Winter Pearmain, Tallman Sweet, and Sweet 
Eomanite. 

" As an ornamemtal tree the improved varieties of 
crab apple have no equal among fruit trees, while 
the beauty and large size of the fruit, added to its 
superiority for domestic use, and its early fruiting, 
render it cme of the most desirable trees the farmer 
or fruit grower can plant. 1 have seen a specimen 
of the Soulard grown in Kansas nearl}^ three inches 
in its largest diameters. The Hyslop and Trans- 
cendent are both beautiful, fine flavored fruit, while 
the Pyramid cannot be excelled as an ornamental 
tree. The Queen's Choice, Blushing Maid, Sweet 
Crab, and several others have very attractive quali- 
ties. 

'' The peach has been planted very extensively, 
and some fine crops have been raised, though mostly 
on seedling trees. It requires elevated land with a 
northern exposure for the protection of its buds in 
the spring, otherwise the fruit buds expand before 
the frosts are over and the crop is destroj^ed. In 
some parts of the State the pear has been success- 
fully cultivated for a number of years, but in some 
sections the blight has done considerable damage to 
the trees, but so far there has been but little injury 
done trees south of the Kansas Eiver. 



FRUIT GROWING. 



143 



" In 1869, having but just commenced raising small 
fruits, I marketed about 1900 quarts of strawberries, 
about 900 quarts of blackberries, and between 300 
and 400 of raspberries from an acre, while in 1870, 
an unusually dry and unprofitable season, I picked 
about 500 quarts of strawberries, 200 of blackberries, 
and not more than fifty of raspberries. In 1869 the 
price of strawberries was 23 cents ; cost of picking, 
$57 ; cultivating, 85.00 ; boxes, $19.00 ; man and 
team to market 12^ days, $37.50 ; profits, $318.50 ; 
sold enough plants from small fruit to pay for culti- 
vating. But grapes gave more than two-thirds as 




KANSAS FRUIT MEDAL. 

large a yield in 1870 as in 1869. The apple and 
peach crops were cut short in 1870, bj^ severe frosts 
after the trees were in bloom, making the yield 
scarcely one-tenth of what it was the previous year. 
But this need be no discouragement, for in no State 
do they succeed in getting full crops every year. 
And judging from present prospects, 1871 will be 



144 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

even more fruitful than 1869. So taking all things 
into consideration the prospect for fruit growing 
becomes more flattering every year, and as railroads 
open up new markets both south and west, the diffi- 
culty will be in furnishing fruit enough to meet the 
increased demand." 

Profits of a Vineyard. 

Mr. "W. E. Barnes settled in 1856 upon unimproved 
prairie 10 miles south of Lawrence, at Yineland sta- 
tion. He was a young man, not worth enough to 
pay for his land and unacquainted with the nursery 
business. In 1857 he set a few grape vines brought 
in a carpet bag from Massachusetts by W. L. G-. Soule. 
He now has a large amount of bearing fruit of all 
kinds, from which he reaps such profits that he 
refused $20,000 for his farm and nursery of 160 acres 
in 1869. His buildings are not costly and the offer 
'«vas made because of the actual value in his fruit 
orchards and vineyards. Probably twice that amount 
would not buy his place. The following estimates 
from Mr. Barnes are therefore not theoretical but are 
based upon actual experience. 

"In accordance with your request I send the follow- 
ing estimates for 10 acres of vineyard for five years, 
the land to be located convenient to a railroad sta- 
tion : 

FIRST TE\E. 

Ten acres nnimproved prairie at $20 $200 00 

Br'^aking sod in May at 3 50 35 00 

Planting corn at 1 00 10 00 

■ Fencing with wire at 75c per rod 120 00 

Total $365 00 

Dedact value of corn crop $50 00 to $100 say 50 00 

$315 00 
^dd interest at 10 per cent.,,,.,,,, 31 50 

$346 50 



FRUIT GROwma. 145 



SECOND TEAR. DR, 

Amount bi ought forward $346 50 

Subso'ling (treuch plowing) 12 inches at $6 00 per 

acre 60 00 

Harrowing once 1 00 pe- acre 10 00 

9003 vines at 3 cents 270 00 

Planting, 5 00 per acre 50 GO 

Cultivating 50 00 

Tall pruning, cutting vines back to two eyes 10 00 

450 00 

796 50 
Interest 79 65 

Total $876 15 

THIRD YEAR. 

Amount brought forward $876 15 

3500 oak posts at 15 cents b?."-) 00 

2500 pounds No. 9 wire at 7>^ cents 1875 00 

150pouDds staples 16 00 

Putting; up trellis 100 00 

Cultivating and tying vines 80 00 

Fall pruning 50 00 

$2,646 00 

$3,522 15 
Interest 352 21 

Total : $3,874 36 

FOURTH TEAR. 

Amount brought forward 3,874 36 

Cultivation 70 00 

Training vines a-^d gathering fruit 300 00 370 00 

$4,244 36 
Deduct 3,600 pounds grapes at 7 cents 2,520 00 

1,724 36 
Add interest 172 43 

Total 1,896 79 

FIFTH TEAR. 

Amount brought forward $1,896 79 

Cultivation $100 00 

Training and gat'ierirg fruit 600 00 700 00 

$2,596 79 
Add interest 259 67 

$2,856 46 

Value of 72,000 pounds grapes at 7c $5,040 00 

Deduct total cost to date 2,856 46 

Net profit in five years $2,183 54 

7 



146 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

'' To this must be added the value of ten acres of 
vineyard in first rate order, and requiring but a 
trifling outlay for trellis during the ensuing five years. 

" The above calculation is made with reference to 
the Concord and would not apply to the Delaware, 
lona and some others, but with the former variety, 
where the requirements indicated above are complied 
with, it may be relied upon, except so far as price is 
concerned. Yery few grapes have been sold for less 
than nine cents per pound heretofore — instead of 
seven cents, as above estimated — but it is evident 
that the price must soon be much lower. While the 
product of many Kansas vineyards has fallen below 
the above estimates, it will be found that there has 
not been expended upon the same vineyards more 
than one-third to one-half the amount above indi- 
cated, in the way of cultivation, erection of trellis, etc. 

"By using the trench plow, or following a breaker 
with a stirring plow, to throw the soil on top of the 
inverted sod, in the winter of the first year, as much 
might be accomplished in one year as is indicated 
above in the first two years. 

Respectfully yours, W. E. BAHNES." 

FARMING. 

The table of farm products given on page nine- 
teen, is the most reliable and thorough exposition of 
the results of Kansas farming that can be made. 
She stands, by that table, ahead of nearly every 
other State, excepting for one year, and then she 
fell but little behind, excepting as to corn. (For the 
benefit of an}^ English reader into whose hands this 
book may fall, I will state that the word " corn " 
is used in this book, as it is universally used in this 
country, to represent " maize.") 

In Eastern Kansas, spring wheat is little sown, as 
it does not do well, while winter wheat yields bounti- 



FARMINa. 147 

fully. West of Emporia, Council Grove and Marysville, 
spring wheat is a profitable crop. Some in Western 
Kansas are unsuccessful with winter wheat, because 
they put it in too shallow, only covering it with a 
harrow, and the light soil is blown away from the 
stem and roots during winter, and it " winter kills." 
Wheat, and indeed all seeds, should be put in quite 
deep in that soil, and a frequent use of the roller 
would be highly beneficial. I think the rule applies 
generally in Kansas that seeds should be planted 
deeper than in Illinois. It has for many years been 
the universal practice in Western Missouri, to plow 
oats under in March, about three or four inches 
deep, and those Kansas farmers who follow that 
practice always raise good crops of oats. 

In 1857 having occassion to write a series of 
newspaper articles on Kansas Farming for the Law- 
rence Eepublican, edited by T. Dwight Thacher, I 
kept three standing rules or mottos, as follows : 
Ploio deep. Plant early. Use the roller. Of course 
the matters of fine tilth, subduing the weeds, stir- 
ring the ground, etc., are not to be neglected, but I 
then believed and now am fully persuaded that the 
three cardinal principles above laid down are especi- 
ally applicable to Kansas. All farmers who have 
practiced those principles have raised good crops 
continually. 

Colonel A. S. Johnson, of Shawneetown, Johnson 
county, Kansas, a native of the State, and whose 
father sowed the good blue grass seed already men- 
tioned, broke, in 1862, 105 acres with a double Michi- 
gan plow, upper plow cutting two to three inches 
deep, lower plow cutting five inches; commenced 
with the first grass in the spring, and plowed until 
too dry ; put it all in wheat, sown broad cast, from 1st 
to 10th of September, and harrowed in thoroughly, 
two bushels per acre; harvested in June, the next 
year, by measurement, 35 bushels per acre, and 



FARMING. 149 

measured the ground. It made a trifle over 60 
pounds per bushel. Next year he broke 107 acres, 
22 acres in corn, harrowed and cultivated as old 
ground, made an average of 45 bushels of corn 
per acre ; in September, 1st- to 10th, sowed in wheat, 
corn land and all, and harvested 35 bushels per acre. 
He could not tell the difference between corn land 
and the other. 

Col. Johnson has a large farno, much of which haS 
been in constant cultivatiion for 30 years and still 
produces good crops. It is his practice once in three 
years to double his teams and plow about a foot deep 
with a trench plow, or to use a subsoil plow. For 
this purpose another Kansas Johnson has invented 
a subsoiler, which can be attach'ed to any plow in a 
few minutes. It is called Johnson's Patent Kansas 
Subsoiler. Mr. C. A. Wright, of Lawrence has the 
control of the patent for the United States. The 
implement is made of iron, curved like a hook. A 
steel shovel, like a cultivator tooth, and with sharp 
edges to cut roots, occupies about six inches of the 
end or point of the subsoiler. The implement curves 
behind and below the plow, and stirs the soil with- 
out throwing it out, to the depth of four to ten 
inches below the bottom of the furrow. It hangs 
centrally in the line of draft, and adds but the draft 
of one horse to the team. Its cost is but six dollars 
and it is unquestionably destined to work a revolu- 
tion in methods of cultivation. Whenever used it 
has added largely to the yield of all crops. 

Breaking Frairie costs about four dollars per acre 
to hire it done. By this process the grass sod of the 
prairie is turned over to the depth of two and a half 
to four inches, with a plow which is kept sharp to 
cut the tough roots of grass and flowering plants. 
A pair of heavy horses will break an acre a day for 
an average of two months with a light plow kept 
sharp. Three horses or mules, worked abreast, makes 



160 . 

an excellent breaking team. But the cheapest break- 
ing team is about four yoke of young oxen, attached 
to a large plow which is so arranged with wheels as 
to steady itself. One good man can manage this 
outfit after the first week, and the cattle, if properly 
handled, will gain in flesh by feeding upon prairie 
grass. The share or cutting part of a breaking plow 
is heated and hammered out thin by a blacksmith 
once or twice a week, and it is kept sharp in the 
field by the frequent use of a large flat file. Ordinary 
]breaking as above described, may be commenced as 
goon as the grass is high enough to furnish good 
feed, and may be continued into or through the 
month of June. If- done at any other season of the 
year the sod does not rot well. If a lower furrow is 
turned on top of the inverted sod, as already de- 
scribed, prairie may be broken any time of the year, 
and the ground planted and treated like old plowed 
ground. This saves one years time, except for winter 
wheat, and land thus broken produces better crops. 
Corn may be planted early in the season upon freshly 
broken sod by cutting through the sod with an axe 
or spade, dropping into the opening the seed corn, 
and then stepping upon it: Winter wheat is sown 
in September of the same year the ground is broken. 
Winter wheat should be sown before, rather than 
after the middle of September, usually the first week. 

HEDGES AND FOREST TREES. 

By the law of this State any person planting one 
acre or more of any forest tree, exce^Dting black 
locust, or one half mile or more of forest trees set in 
row on a public highway not more than a rod apart, 
shall receive two dollars per acre, or two dollars per 
half mile, each year for a term of twenty-five years; 
provided, that the trees shall be cultivated and grow- 
ing three years before the bounty begins. \_General 
JStatutesp. 1094.] 



HEDGES AND FOREST TREES. 151 

The following essay was prepared for this book 
by Mr. S. T. Kelsey, of Pomona, Franklin county, 
it being the substance of an essay read by him before 
the Kansas State Horticultural Society at its Annual 
Meeting, December 15, 1868. Its clear and concise 
directions are founded upon the experience of twenty 
years in the business, six years of which period have 
been spent in Kansas : 

Set a row of stakes six to eight feet to one side of the line intended for the 
hedge, to guide the plowman. As each stake is passed, set it over the same 
distance to the other side of the hedge line, which will guide you in striking, 
the back furrow. Finish out the land by leaving a dead furrow on the hedge 
line. It is generally cheaper and better for the farmer to buy his plants of the 
grower who makes that a specialty, than to attempt to grow them himself. 
Plant any time during the month of April or first of May, after the soil ia 
rotted and when the ground is in good order. Don't plant when it is too we^ 
Prepare the ground by plowing deep, throwing the furrows to the center, after 
which harrow down smooth. Now stretch a cord the size of a clothes line, 
track it by walking along on the cord, throw it to one side and it leaves a 
mark to plant by. Plant with steel spade, with blade thirteen inches long and 
three wide. Use none but good, strong plants. Cut them so that the roots shall 
be eight inches long and the tops six. Press the spade in on the mark of the 
line the full length of the blade, push it a little forward, and a boy with a 
handful of plants slips one down in the opening, two inches deeper than it 
stood in the nursery. Pull up the spade, and thrusting it into the soil two 
inches from the opening, press the earth firmly about the root, and the work ia 
done. A good man and boy will in this way plant a half mile of hedge per 
day. Set the plants one foot apart in the row. Cultivate well the full width 
of the plowing. In the fall throw a furrow to the hedge on each side, and 
level down in the spring. As soon as the plants are started the second spring, 
replace all the dead ones with extra strong plants. I would do no cutting till 
the third, fourth or fifth year, then plash by cutting each plant half off at the 
ground, and bending it down into the row, so that it shall rest on the one last 
cut. The young shoots will then grow up from the roots and along the stem, 
making, with the old plants, an impassable barrier to all farm stock. After 
the hedge is plashed, it should be cut back annually to about four and a half 
feet high, in a pyramidal form, so that a cross section would appear like a 
capital " A," with base equal to highf . If a wind break is required, the plants 
may be set six to eight inches apart, CTiltivated well, and allowed to grow up 
as they will. It makes a good fence to turn all large stock, but to my eye is 
an unsightly object. The Osage Orange seems to be at home in our soil and 
climate. It grows rapidly, and endures our dryest summers and our coldest 
■winters. The gophers are easily destroyed by trapping or poisoning, and I 



152 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

know of uo other enemy or disease that injures it seriously. With a little 
forethought and effort, I am confident that in less than fifteen years, with the 
Osage Orange hedges, we can and will have the best fenced State in the Union, 
at one-third the cost of fencing with wood, in countries where timber is most 
abundant. Having the fence question disposed of, the lines located and the 
hedge rows broken, the next move I would make on a prairie farm, would be 
to prepare for platting a forest and orchard, and the first ground broken on 
the place after the hedge rows, should be for that purpose. On a quarter 
section I would plant at least twenty acres of forest, and I think forty acres 
would be still better. It maj' be planted in a body, or in belts to form wind 
breaks. It should be so as to protect the orchard, farm buildings, stock, crops, 
etc., from storms, so far as can well be. Having decid<d where the forest is to 
be grown, break the ground early in the season, so it may become well rotted. 
The kind of trees to be planted now requires our attention, and should be decided 
upon in time to collect a supply of seeds, cuttings and plants, which should be 
ready on the ground when planting time comes. I am experimenting with 
most of the different kinds of trees that have been recommended for forest 
culture, and thus far I find but three that I can recommend for extensive 
planting. A tree to be desirable and valuable for extensive forest planting, 
must be easily and cheaply obtained, and easily grown from seeds or cuttings. 
It must be a tolerably fast grower, and should produce timber of more than 
ordinary value for fue', building or manufacturing purposes. It should be a 
tree that attains a good old age, and increases in value as it grows in years. It 
is important also, that it should form one straight stem without any pruning, 
I have found no tree that comes up to my ideal, and am obliged to accept the 
nearest approach to it. 

All things considered, the Black Walnut is probably the most valuable tree 
that we can plant. Gather the nuts, which are abundant in K: nsas, soon after 
they drop in the fall, spread them and cover with two or three inches of moist 
earth, or, still better, with saw dust, to keep them moist through the winter, 
and plant two inches deep, ear'y in the spring. Nearly every one will grow, 
and in fair soil, with good cultivation, will make an average growth of about 
two feet per year, producing firewood in five and six years. In ten years they 
will make good fence posts, or railroad ties and will begin to bear nuts. In 
fifteen years they will make a stately forest, producing annually large crops of 
nuts, as well as furnishing timber. Such a forest, judiciously managed, will 
increase in value for a century, returning annually, without expense to the 
owner, better profits than any farm crops with which I am acquainted. The 
Cottonwood I give the second place on the list. It is readily grown from cut- 
tings made from shoots of the last year's growth, which may be cut any time 
from the fall of the leaf till needed for planting. I usually cut during winter 
and pack them away in moist saw dust, or bury them in the earth till planting 
time. Make them about one foot long, and plant with a narrow spade, as recom- 
mended for planting Osage Orange hedge, leaving one or two inches of the top 
of the cutting above ground. Be sure that the earth is firmly pressed about 



HEDGES AND FOREST TREES. 153 

each cutting. Where small plants, one year old, can be obtained, they may be 
planted instead of cuttings. The Cottonwood grows very rapidly when young, 
making five to six feet in hight annually for several years. In four years it 
makes a very good wind break and shelter for stock, and if fuel is scarce it 
will supply the fires with wood. It usually grows with a clean, straight stem. 
I am of opinion that by alternating the Cottonwood with the Black Walnut, 
and judiciously thinning out as they grow, the Walnut ma> make a taller 
straighter growth than if grown by itself, and be of more value. 

The third and last tree that I would place on this list — and I put this on with 
some hesitation— is the Silver Maple, commonly known as Soft Maple. It la 
grown from seed, gathered as it ripens from the first to the fifteenth of May, 
sowed immediately in drills, and covered with one inch of good, mellow soil. 
The plants come above ground in six to ten days, and by fall they will be one 
to two and a half feet high. Next spring they should be planted in forest. 
Plaat two inches deeper than they stood before, and press the earth firmly 
about the roots. Nearly every one will live and make an annual growth, on 
average soil, with good cultivation, of about three feet. At ten years from 
planting, they will make twenty-five to thirty feet in hight, and ten to twelve 
inches in diameter. It is a very beautiful tree while young, and the wood la 
more valuable for fuel than Cottonwood, or any other available fast growing 
tree with which I am acquainted. It is also valuable for the manufacture of 
some kinds of furniture, and the sap makes sugar which is almost, if not 
quite, equal in quality to that made from the sugar maple. It has the fault of 
often forking, so as to make two or more stems, and except in favorable situa- 
tions, I think it is not likely to make large, straight trees. It also has the 
fault of being too easily split down by wind and sleet. 

The forest should be planted as early in spring as the ground can be put in 
good order. Lay off and stake the rows twelve feet apart. The whole ground 
may now be plowed, or a strip four feet wide may be plowed for each row, 
leaving the rest to be plowed afterwards. Plow deep in the line of each row 
and harrow it down. Now stretch a line, track it, and plant to the mark, 
putting the plants about eighteen inches apart in the row. Plant the Walnuta 
with a hoe, like potatoes, ihe cuttings with a narrow spade, as before directed, 
and the young plants with a common spade, by throwing out a spit of earth 
where the plant is to stand; then one person, with plants in hanfl, puts one in 
place, anothf r ■with spade fills in the earth, and the first presses it at out the 
roots with his feet. I have often planted alone pulling some earih to the plant 
with my foot, and when through the row go back and level with the spade. 
Now plant two rows of corn or other hoed crop, in each space between the rows 
of trees, and keep the ground mellcw and free from weeds by cultivation. 
Plant thus between the rows (ach year, and cultivate well until the trees shade 
the ground too much for profitable cultivation and seed with red clover If a 
hedge was plantel around the forest a^ it should tave been when the forest 
was planted, it w 11 now be a fence, and hogs or young cattle may be turned in 
to pasture on the clover. As soon as the trees are large eroi^gh to be out of 



154 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

the way of large cattle, they also may be turned in sparingly ; but it is not 
advisable to attempt too much pasturing in the fcrcet, as it will injure and 
finally ruin, even a well grown natural forest. Besides, the growth of the 
timber, and the value of the wood that may be taken annually theretrom, will 
be ample to satisfy any reasonable man. 

There are many other forest trees that are valuable for various purposes, and 
to those who want a greater variety than I have recommended, who have means 
that they are willing to lay out in extra expense, or who want to grow the 
trees for a special object, I would suggest the following: Honey Locust, White 
Ash, Box Elder, Kentucky Coffee, White, Red, and Water Elm, Butternut, 
Chestnut, Hickory, Cypress, European and American Larch, Linden, Silver 
Leaf Poplar, Mulberry, Catalpa, Ailanthus, White and Yellow Willow, and 
Hackherry, and lastly the Evergreens — the beauty and glory of the landscape, 
unfading, unchanging "types of the immortal," relieving more than anything 
else, the monotony of winter, and with their dense foliage checking and modify- 
ing the searching prairie winds. These should receive the attention of every 
prairie farmer, and should be planted liberally about every prairie home as soon 
as possible after the more pressing wants are supplied. Evergreens grow slowly 
for the first few years. Most varieties requira two or three years to become 
thoroughly acclimated and are too expensive for general forest planting; but 
from the experience that I have had with them, and the evidence of success 
that I have seen with others, I am satisfied that when once established and 
growing on our prair'e soil, they suceeed as well in Kansas as farther north and 
east, and that good, small sized, well rooted trees may be transplanted with very 
little danger of failure. Too many have bought Evergreens from parties east, 
who advertise that they have immense quantities which they will sell for one- 
half (or less) the usual price charged by nurserymen. They are little, spind- 
ling things, with scarcely any roots at all, and unused to the sun, even in their 
northern homes. It will be found much cheaper and more satisfactory in nearly 
every case to go to the nearest reliable nursery for Evergreens, paying a 
reasonable price therefor, or if such trees cannot be obtained at the home 
nursery, send to some other reliable nurseryman and order them, remembering 
always that it is much safer, cheaper and better to get small trees, not over two 
feet high, and if possible, get sueh as have been often transplanted. The best 
time to transplant Evergreens is in the spring, usually from the first to the 
middle of April, tl: ough I should plant earlier if ground was in good order. 
In handling the roots should not he exposed to the sun or air one minute longer 
than is absolutely necessary. The surface moisture even, should not be dried ofif. 
For general cultivation for ornament and wind breaks, I would recommend the 
Norway Spruce, White Austrian and Scotch Pines, Balsam Fir, Red Cedar, and 
An;erican Arbor Vitae, For amateur cultivators I would add the American 
White and Black Spruce, English, Irish and Swedish Juniper, Golden and 
Siberian Arbor Vitje, Lowsen's Cypress, American Holly and Hemlock. I 
would also suggest that experiments should be made with native Evergreens 
from south and west, and w« may find something more valuable for our Kansas 



HEDGES AND FOREST TREES. 155 

prairies than anything we now have in cultiTation. A few dollars judiciously 
expended, and a little care in planting and tending, will in a few years give the 
surroundings of any prairie farm house or any Kansas home a goodly supply 
of well grown specimens of these most beautiful of nature's gifts. 

S. T. KELSEY. 

Concerning this practical and Highly valuable 
essay, it is proper to say that most of tree cultiva- 
tors in other States, think it much better to plant 
the trees closer together, say in rows three or four 
feet apartj giving as a reason the fact that by closa 
planting, forest trees make taller and smoother 
trunks, as the branches tend upward for light and 
air, instead of expanding laterally. Mr. Kelsey does 
not lose sight of this fact, but his theory is that a 
half a loaf is better than no bread at all. Most 
settlers in a new country are not able to devote land 
solely to the growth of forest trees, and experience 
in all the Western States demonstrates that of those 
"who are able, very few can be persuaded to do it. 
Mr. Kelsey concedes that a better and more valuable 
forest can be grown by thick planting, and for those 
who can afford it, he advises it. But it is a question 
of dollars and cents and his method has the striking 
advantage that it is cheap. 

One of the best evergreens for Kansas is the Eed 
Cedar, which is a native of all the region west of the 
Missouri Eiver, from Texas to the British Posses- 
sions. It is quite easily transplanted, and is, when 
young, a rapid grower. It is natural to dry, rocky 
and barren spots, and it is therefore not difficult to 
make it grow upon the open prairie. 

Box Elder is another native of Western Kansas, 
which may be grown from the seeds that can be col- 
lected in the fall. It grows rapidly and in beautiful 
form until about ten or fifteen years old, after which 
it is inclined to be scraggy. Mr. E. S. Elliott, Indus- 
trial Agent of the K. P. Eailway, says it can be 



156 



HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 



grown from cuttings, and it is well known that its 
sap makes a fair quality of sugar. 

Osage Orange is almost a native of Kansas, as it 
grows wild in the Indian Territory not far from our 
southern border. It matures its seeds here, which 




PLAN 



HIGHLAND CEMETERY, JUNCTION CITY. 



are held in a ball much like a small orange, whence 
its name. In its wild state it attains the height of 
forty to sixty feet. This is a very valuable tree for 
general cultivation. It grows rapidly, its wood is 
hard and durable, and it makes an excellent wind 
break. In this regard it stands next to evergreens 



HEDGES AND FOREST TREES. 157 

from its multitude of small limbs. A belt a rod or 
two in width, almost entirely breaks the force of 
the wind. Mr. Kelsey has said enough about hedge 
rows, but I urge the planting of this tree for wind 
breaks. Plants a year old can be had .for $1.50 to 
$2.25 per thousand, according to quality and quantity. 
Or it may be plantd for forests where it is to grow. 
A pound of the seed will make from 3000 to 4000 
plants or trees. This tree would soon furnish excal- 
lent railroad ties. Concerning wind breaks, a good 
shelter is afforded on the prairies even by a clump of 
hazle bushes, with a few scrub oaks intermixed, and 
not a tree over ten feet high. The low but impene- 
trable thicket afforded by Osage Orange, is a perfect 
wind break for a stock yard or for tender fruits, etc. 

Efforts have been made, and I regret to add, by 
my friend Mr. Elliott,, before mentioned, to induce 
the planting of Black Locust in Kansas, in the vain 
hope that the borers will not kill it. (This tree must 
not be confounded with the Honey or Thorny Locust, 
a short, stout tree, with long thorns, and with a 
sweet substance in its seed pods, whence its name. 
The Honey Locust is a native of Kansas, and is per- 
fectly hardy but a slow grower.) This tree is so 
easily grown from cheap seed and looks so handsome 
and promising for a few years, that there is a great 
temptation to plant it. But it has been tried over 
and over again in Kansas and it universally fails, 
first or last, just as it fails in all prairie countries, 
after it is about a dozen years old, by its limbs being 
cut at the trunk by a borer ; no bounty is paid for it 
it under our State law. Prof Chas. Y. Riley, State 
Entomologist of Missouri, being quoted as saying 
that it was not injured by borers when planted in 
groves, I wrote him, saying that I believed the tree 
should be utterly discarded, and received the follow- 
ing letter: 

"Never give a man's opinion from the curtailed 



158 

reports of what he says. I am often reported as 
saying the most outrageous things. 

" If I were to give my opinion in three words, I 
should state that with regard to the Black Locust, you 
are correct. There are, however, qualifying condi- 
tions and circumstances. The borer is not so bad on 
high limestone lands — may be in a measure prevented 
by the proper use of soap and the killing of the 
beetles during September. The central trees in large 
groves are less subject to attack than those on the 
outside, and where fuel or posts are needed the young 
trees will generally take the place of the old ones as 
fast as they are killed or cut down. I have my 
reasons for believing that the tree should not under 
certain conditions be discarded from your Kansas list; 
but why urge the Black Locust, when there are other 
and better trees ? Whatever reporters make me say, 
I have never done so." 

Hastily, yours trulv, 

C. y.EILBY. 

The Chestnut is a valuable and beautiful tree and 
a grove will well pay for the trouble of cultivation 
simply by fattening swine on the nuts, to say nothing 
of the timber. This tree, wherever I have noticed 
it in a natural forest, grows upon a light or sandy 
soil, or at least upon well drained land. It is yet 
uncertain how it will do on the deep, rich soil of 
the prairies, or on the drier western plains. 

It is believed by many of those whose experi- 
ence gives weight to their opinions, that the Euro- 
pean Larch is the best tree for general planting. 
As it is propagated only from seeds, and requires 
very skillful treatment when young, it is an expen- 
sive tree to plants in quantities. Robert Douglas, 
of Illinois, who has done very much to bring this 
tree before the public, says : " It is undoubtedly the 
most valuable timber tree for extensive planting; 



HEDGES AND FOREST TREES. 159 

combining the durability of the Eed Cedar with 
rapidity of growth, extreme hardiness, freedom from 
disease and adaptability to almost every soil." He 
writes me however that it ought to be planted on 
dry soil, and so say all the cultivators. A. J". Down- 
ing says: " It is remarkably heavy, strong, and dura- 
ble, excelling in those qualities the best English 
oaks." Posts of Larch and Oak were placed in the 
river Thames, where by the rise and fall of the tide 
they were alternatly wet and dry. " The oak posts 
decayed and were twice removed while the Larch 
remained altogether unchanged." Loudon says vine 
props of Larch are used in Switzerland and are trans- 
mitted from generation to generation an unknown 
term of years, without showing any signs of decay. 
Douglas says : " In Great Britain the Larch has be- 
come so popular for railroad ties that the forests of 
Scotland are taxed to their utmost to su23ply the 
demand." 

He has trees fifteen years planted which are 45 
inches in circumference, nine years from seed 27 
inches, and five years from seed 9 inches in circum- 
ference at the collar. Yarious plantations of this 
tree twelve year old show it 30 feet and upwards in 
bight and 10 to 12 inches in diameter. Eobert 
Douglas & Son of Waukegan, Illinois, offer these 
trees two years old, 6 to 18 inches high at $2 per 
hundred, $10 per thousand, $90 per 10,000, and $800 
per 100,000. He offers the seed at 25 cents per ounce 
or $2 50 per pound. 

There grows in AVisconsin, Minnesota, and the ad- 
joining portions of Illinois and Iowa, a tree called 
Poplar, which resembles Aspen, or Quaking Asp. 
Groves of it sprout up in the same manner as Cotton- 
wood, standing thick on the ground and rising 20 or 
or 30 feet with no considerable limbs and almost 
uniform in size, from the ground up. I have seen 
this tree cut when three to five years old, and peeled 



160 

or riven throngh the heart frcm end to end, and 
nailed to posts for fence. I saw such poles in Glen- 
coe, Minnesota, used for fencing the village lots, 
which were twelve years old and perfectly sound. 
The tree is grown from cuttings like Cottonwood and 
is equally rapid in growth, while it is better for fuel 
and very valuable for timber as the above indicates. 
Strange to say, there are few localities even where it 
grows naturally, where the people know that it is 
durable when the bark is off. AVhen riven and fast- 
ened to posts the bark soon drops off. I wrote to 
several gentlement of practical experience in tree 
business, but could get no satisfactory information 
until the following letter came to hand from Mr. 
George Pinney, of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. 

" I think there is no doubt but that the tree you describe is what we call 
White Poplar. The name White Poplar is one of our conventionalities. The 
botanical name is Populus Grandidentata. We have named it White Poplar 
because of the white down with which the young leaves are covered in spring, 
giving it the appeai-ance ©f being laden with white blossoms. It sometimes 
grows quite large. I have seen them here two feet in diameter, 60 to 70 feet 
high. It'differs widely from Aspen. The leaves are fully twice as large and 
much more scanty, it makes a growth of two or three times that of the Aspen, 
and its branches and buds are coarser. I have known of well rooted trees in 
favorable localities, making a growth of six to ten feet in hight, increasing the 
diameter of the stem from one to two in vhes in a single season. When growing 
thick in good, strong soil, it mounts Tipward with beautifnl straight trunks, 
with amazing rapidity, and uniform in size 12 to 25 feet. As the trees grow 
old and large the bark beco-Jies fluted and serriated, similar to the White Wood 
or Poplar of the east, really the Liriodendron Tulipifera. The bark is very thick 
and stiff, and the laticiferous tissue very abundant, which makes the bark 
separate with great facility in the spring during the development of the latex. 
The boys use it in preference to anything else for making whistles. The timber 
when dried thoroughly with the bark off, is very peculiar in many particulars. 
It is very light, very stiff and springy, extremely difficult to chop with an axe, 
more so than seasoned maple or oak, but very easy to saw or shave, and seems 
to be almost impermeable to water, hence very durable against decay or wear, 
when not permitted to come in contact with the ground, but when cut and left 
with the bark on it will become dozy in fifty or sixty days, during the grow- 
ing season, and worthless in three months. It is very easy to transplant." 

I have not Mr. Pinney's prices, but this tree must 



HEDGES AND FOREST TREES. 161 

be sold cheap as it is so easily propagated. It is not 
certain that it will thrive in this climate, but it is 
reasonable to believe that it will, and I recommend 
it, not to take the place of more valuable but costly 
trees, but to supplant the Cottonwood, of which wo 
can only say that it costs next to nothing, and is 
very much better than no tree. 

Mr. D. C. Scofield, a noted tree grower of Illinois, 
says: "The White Pine is next in value as a timber 
tree to the Larch, nearly equaling it in growth, and 
will thrive well in nearly all soils; especially as a 
forest tree on dry, open prairies. 

" The result of my experiments will be seen in the 
comparative growth of the different varieties of 
wood, as exhibited in the table below, from average 
measurement. The age of the trees is twelve years, 
from seedling plants one and two years old, and six 
to twelve inches in heighth. 

Size of trees in Illinois, fourteen years old. 

Diameter. Hight. 

European Larch 8 to 12 inches 30 feet 

White Ash 3 to 5 " 16 " 

Silver (or Soft) Maple 4 to 6 " 25 " 

fiugar (or Hard) Maple 2 to 4 " 12 " 

Black Walnut 2 to 4 " 14 " 

Chestnut (common) 3 to 4 " 16 *• 

American Larch (Tamarack) 4 to 6 " 25 " 

American Elm 3 to 4 " 16 " 

Scotch Elm 3 to 4 " 16 " 

Birch (European) 4 to 6 " 14 ** 

White Pine •. 6 to 10 " 35 ** 

Norway Spruce 5 to 8 " 20 " 

Scotch Pine .■ 4 to 8 " 20 " 

Black Austrian Pine 5 to 7 " 16 " 

Eixropean Silver Fir 2 to 4 " 7 *« 

AmericaH Fir 4 to 6 " 10 " 

The growth of Black Walnut as above indicated 
was very slow. Undoubtedly this may be accounted 
for by the fact which Mr. Scofield notes above, that 
they were grown from seedling plants. The Black 
Walnut should always be planted where it is to be 
7* 



1^2 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

grown. If transplanted its long tap root is necessa- 
rily cut in the process, and this stops its growth for 
a long time. In Kansas, when grown where the 
nuts are planted, its growth is at least double that 
indicated in the above table. 

In 1866 I contracted with Mr. S. T. Kelsey for 
the planting of a forest on the grounds of Ottawa 
University, Franklin county. In 1867 fifteen acres 
^ere planted to Black Walnut, and five acres to a 
variety of deciduous and evergreen trees. In Decem- 
ber, 1870, 1 measured the trees, and they averaged as 
ioUows : 

Size of trees in Kansas, with the age from seed. 

Diameter. Higlit. 

Black WaltT:it,3 years old 1 to 2 inches 5 to 8 feet. 

Soft M«ple, 3 years old 13^ to 3 " S to 12 " 

Cottonwood, 3 years old 2 to 33^ " 12 to 16 '* 

European Larch, 5 years old 1 to 3 " 6 to 10 " 

Red Cedar, 5 years old 1 to 3 " 4 to 7 " 

American Arbor Vitte, 

5 years old 3 " 

Peach Buds, 1 year old 1 to 1]^ " 4 to 7 " 

Apricots and Nectarines 5 to 8 " 

Apples and other fruit proportional size. 

The European Larch plants were not healthy^ 
having been saved from a large lot that perished. 
These, as well as the Cedar and Arbor Yitoe, were 
planted on ground a little too wet for their natural 
requirements. The Eed Cedar grows slowly after a 
few years, and never becomes q, stately tree. Nearly 
all other forest trees grow more rapidly after the 
£rst three or five years, until they attain full size. 

AN englishman's IMPRESSIONS. 

It affords me pleasure to present a letter from the 
Bev. James Chew of Ottawa, recently pastor of the 
Congregational Church, Mile End Eoad, London, 
England, as it bears with peculiar force upon many 
of the topics treated in this book. The subjoined 
correspondence explains itself. 



AN englishman's IMPRESSIONS. 163 

Jfcr. J. Chew, 

Dear Sir: You have resided in this State a few mont hs and have seen a 
good deal of the country and of the people who inhabit it. Permit me to ask you 
this question. From the etand point of an Englishman in America, what do 
you think of Kansas as a place for a home? I also beg leave to use your letter 
in the little book I am preparing about Kansas. 

Wishing you abundant success in the labors which are so highly esteemed by 
all Who enjoy ycur ministrations, 

I remain, very respectfully yours, 

C. C. HUTCHINSON. 



Ottawa, Franklin Co., Kansas, 
December 29, 1870. 
Mr. C. C. HidcJnnson, 

Dear Sir : It affords me pleasure to give you the impressions of an English- 
man on Kansas in compliance with your request. There may be those from 
the old ceuntry who, having been longer in the State, would be more compe- 
tent judges than I; but during the seven months of my residence in it I have 
travelh d hundreds of miles north, south and west, with my eyes open, and can 
speak what I do know and testify what I have seen. My friends in England 
are probably of opinion that my chief impression is ore of general disappoint- 
ment, seeing that I have been diverted from the cherished object for which I 
crossed the Atlantic and came so far west. Instead of supporting my family 
by farming and preaching gratis,! am again engaged in the Ministry solely, 
but this change in my plans has been caused, not by the condition of things I 
have found here, but by thep ersuasions of Ministers and the entreaties of 
others. 

I confess to having been omewhat disappointed in some things. Land is 
higher in price near towns. Hired 1 elp is not so good, and more diflScult to 
get ; clothes, fuel and furniture are more expensive than had been represented. 
These are evils however which (except in the matter of land) will gradually 
cure themselves, or be remedied by the growth of towns, the cultivation of 
land, the influx of immigrants, the multiplication of railways, the development 
of commerce, etc. The climate is slightly different from what I expected. Tho 
heat was a degree or two intenser in the summer than I was prepared for, 
although singularly tenfipered by the cooling breeze that came daily|and nightly 
from the south : a peculiarity to Kansas, which the intense heat was not, for 
while exceptional here as every one assured me, it prevailed according to the 
telegrams in all the States and in Europe as well. The recent "snap " of cold 
weather, said to be the severest for years, pressed the mercury considerably 
lower than I ever experienced it before, though the clearness and dryness of 
the atmosphere prevented me being more inconvenienced by it than on many 
an ordinary chilly day in my native country. Ih truth I felt it less. Th©^ 
occasional sudden changes of temperature are decidedly objectionable. The 



164 

fruit also (to mention all my disapointments together) was not so abundant in 
its season as I had hoped — books having described Kansas as a great fruit pro- 
ducing State, meaning, as now appears, not that it actually bears an enormoiia 
yield of fruit, but is capable of doing so eventually. Give it time and the 
extraordinary soil will produce any quality and quantity of the best fruits, 
but I had stupidly overlooked the fact that there had hardly been time for 
numerous fiuit groves to be planted, still less for them to attain to a mellow 
and prolific maturity. 

These are all the things I think, which are not quite as good as I anticipated 
With these exceptions I have been agreeably and exceedingly surprised. The 
climate, taken the year round, is healthful and most enjoyable — sometimes 
so delightful that, as a Swede remarked to me the other day, "it could not be 
better if we had the making of it ourselves." The clear skies, the pure, exhila- 
rating air, the glorious sunsets, the lovely Indian summer, and even the bright, 
bracing early part of winter, which is not wintry, can be described only in 
language which strangers would deem exaggerated. The country is not so flat 
nor the scenery so monotonous, nor the water so scarce, nor the trees so small 
and few, as I feared. The Marais des Cygnes, which curves one of its windings 
near my house, is a truly beautiful river, fringed on each bank by a forest 
which would do credit to countries celebrated for their timber. Wild flowers 
in all but endless variety, I have gathered in the forest as well as on the prairie ; 
notwithsianding that I arrived too late to behold Flora in all the glory with 
which she decks herself in the spring, when likewise the climate I am informed 
wears one of its fairest aspects. 

The inhabitants are more intelligent and respectable than their distance from 
the centres of civilization would have led one to suppose. All have an independ- 
ent bearing, shown at times by some almost disagreeably, arising partly, 
perhaps, from all of them — eten the negroes— being apparently in easy circum- 
stances. I have not met with a rude person, nor a beggar, nor a solitary case of 
beastly drunkenness. Only seven or eight poor creatures have crossed my path 
whose unsteady steering showed they were " half-seas over." It is amusing now 
to recall the concern and apppehension which many, not only on the other side 
of the ocean, but also in American cities out east betrayed, when ihey he ird that 
my family and fellow-travellers were going to Kansas! They regarded the 
outlandish region as a pandemonium of savage Indians and border ruffians. 
The ruffianism I ha^e not discovered, but good society I have, as educated and 
refined as in any place I know. The institutions, the roads, railways, laws, 
periodicals, schools, universities, and alike in size, number and style, the 
churches are for so young a State a marvel ; while the people, so far as I have 
seen, are temperate, enterprising. Sabbath-observing, law-abiding, freedom- 
loving and religious. Folks at a distance think of Kansas in connection with 
her early troubles in the cause of freedom and mistake them. They picture 
her as " Bloody Kansas," rather than as " Bleeding Kansas," as if she had been 
a persecutor and not a msvrtyr. Naj-, she has a noble, albeit a painful history, 
of which all haters of slavery may be proud, giving thanks that she bleeds no 



AN englishman's IMPRESSIONS. 165 

longer, but like the fabled 1 ero haa gathered strength from her reverses, and 
now grows fast, fair and formidable. 

Thei-e is a good sprinkling of Englishmen throughout the State. Several 
colonies of them, notably at Wakefield, near Junction City. Where, indeed, 
will you not find Britishers ? And where can the average Briton not make 
himself at home? Yet would I not advise my countrymen indiscriminately to 
come here. There are those who would not do as well as at home. Persons, 
fc* example, who have been delicately reared, and have not means to build a 
house and make themselves a comfortable home at once, would be sorely tried 
here. Sanguine souls who would look for cent pieces lying like stones on the 
ground and dollar notes hanging like leaves on the trees, would curse the 
place. Any who have not the power of adaptation, with some patience and 
perseverence — who have not learned to "labor and to wait," had better stay 
where they are. There is no " roughing it " in the sense in which that word is 
commonly understood in reference to new countries ; no scorching winds to 
bear as in Australia; no dense forests to clear as in Canada; no long winters 
to endure as in Minnesota; yet are there inconveniences, not to say difiBculties, 
at starting, and whoever cannot put up with them will be wise to seek a para- 
dise where mansions are already prepared for them. Speaking generally, capi- 
talists would do well, either by loaning money, for which they would easily 
obtain enormous interest on the best security, or by introducing manufac- 
tures, for which there is an urgent demand, or by raising grain and stock. 
The hard-handed sons of toil, used to work and ready to turn their hand to 
anything, inured to privation and not missing luxuries, cannot fail to gain 
much more than a bare subsistence. Wages are high and most provisions 
cheap. Farmers and farm labourers, in particular, should come. How often 
have I thought of the small farmers and their hinds, whom I formerly knew in 
Cornwall, Devonshire, Dorsetshire, in the north and other parts of England, 
who had been slaving for years (and their fathers before them for generations) 
on lands of which they did not own a single rod, and any of whom, by working 
not near so hard for, say, seven years, would have a competence, owning their 
houses, farms and cattle, and having their children educated in the bargain. 
Artisans, uniting as in cooperative societies, would prosper, provided tbey did 
not purchase land without seeing it, or if they sent trustworthy pioneers in 
advance, who understood their business. Ministers of the Gospel are much 
needed. If there be any willing to labor with their own hands, that they be 
chargeable to none ; if any have some private resources and would be content 
with such remuneration as small churches can afford ; if any have ample means 
and would consider it a sufficient reward to aid in laying the foundations of 
■society — to assist in forming the commercial, political, educational and moral 
■character of a people surely destined to be great and influential — there are 
spheres and calls for them. Marked respect is paid to ministers, as I have 
experienced and gratefully tes ify. 

I would add, sir, that intending emigrants in Europe require more informa- 
tion respecting Kansas, in which the sunny and shady sides of our young and 




PRESBYTERIAN CHUROH, JUNCTION CITY. 



INHABITANTS. 167 

flourishing State will be exhibited together. I am pleased to believe that your 
book will go far towards supplying this want. 

I remain, dear sir, yours truly, 

JAMES CHEW. 

INHABITANTS. 

It appears almost ludicrous thus to head a section 
concerning the people who occupy the central State- 
of the United States of America. It seems to beto- 
ken the discovery of an unknown country, and with 
a feeling of curiosity akin to fear we draw near tb 
study the costume and customs of its strange inhabi- 
tants. 

Yet a book about Kansas would be incomplete 
unless it contained something concerning the people 
who live in Kansas, especially as our friends " within 
the bounds of civilization " have decidedly erroneous 
opinions concerning us. Those who take the trouble 
to examine what is shown in these pages about the 
institutions of Kansas — its Churches, Schools, News- 
papers, Eailroads, Cities and Public Buildings must 
conclude that although distant from the homes of 
our fathers we have not lapsed into barbarism. In 
fact we all had fathers and mothers who lived in 
" the East," or some other place, and it is but a few 
years since we left those dear old homesteads to 
make homes for ourselves on these lovely prairies. 
The light has gone out from many of the places 
where we once lived and loved, but all the way from 
the Mississippi to the Atlantic, and even beyond its 
billows, there are fires burning on hearth stones at 
which we find a welcome and a chair. Those people 
at the East who suppose that Kansans are necessa- 
rily uncouth and ignorant, will do well to reflect for 
a moment as to the character of those who have left 
their own vicinity for distant Western States. They 
know too well that the best blood and brain of the 
Eastern^ Middle, and Southern States is seeking for 



168 Hutchinson's Kansas. 

itself a new domain in the boundless West. Do all 
these people forget their cunning because they 
" come to Kansas ?" Let their institutions and their 
works answer for them. 

No other State ever had among its early settlers 
so many well educated men and women as Kansas. 
There were seventy college graduates among the four 
hundred voters at the first election held in Lawrence. 

It was formerly one of the staple objections against 
coming West, that there were so many foreigners 
here, but now there are nearly as many in the East 
as in the West in proportion to population, especially 
in New England, which is fast becoming old Ireland. 
There are comparatively few foreigners in Kansas, 
but we heartily wish there were more of the same 
sort. Here there is "room and verge enough for all," 
whether they pronounce our "Shibboleth" or not. 

Wm. H. Seward once said in a public speech : 
" The people of Kansas are the most intelligent, the 
most virtuous and the bravest people in the world." 

NEWSPAPERS. 

Among the foremost and most important agencies 
which have contributed to the growth of Kansas, is 
its newspaper press. Atchison, Leavenworth, Law- 
rence, Topeka, Fort Scott and Emporia, all have daily 
newspapers, and in size and general appearance they 
compare favorably with average eastern papers. It 
is a surprise to all strangers that such papers can be 
sustained in towns of no greater size. Our daily 
and weekly papers are so numerous and so merito- 
rious that it would be at once tiresome and invidious 
to mention any in particular, but I may allude to 
the Kansas Farmer, published monthly at Leaven- 
worth, which has acquired an enviable position 
among its cotemporaries throughout the United 
StateSj both as to matter and appearance. One de- 



NEWSPAPERS. 169 

servedly successful monthly, the Educational Journal, 
of Empo.ia, is devoted exclusively to the cause of 
education, and monthly or quarterlj^ issues are made 
of religious publications. Another class of papers 
extensively published in Kansas is devoted exclu- 
sively to the real estate business. The}^ are issued 
by private firms for gratuitous distribution, and con- 
tain valuable information. 

The first settlers of Kansas were men of brains 
and men of business, and thej^ were moved to Kan- 
sas by an idea. Under whichever banner they 
ranged, whether of freedom or of slavery, it is un- 
questionable that they were terribly in earnest. In 
such a community a weak and inconstant press could 
find no support. From this, among other causes, it 
has come about that no other State in the Union 
has proportionally so many newspapers as Kansas, 
and nowhere else do country papers present so good 
an appearance and give such evidence of editorial 
ability. Manj^ names f\imous in the eastern news- 
paper world are familiar to Kansas. Horace White, 
of the Chicago Tribune; James Eedpath, of Boston; 
the lamented Albert D. Eichardson, of the New York 
Tribune; John Swinton, of the New York Times; 
Col .Samuel F. Tappan, Richard J. Hinton and Wm 
Hutchinson, Washington correspondents of eastern 
papers; J. M. Winchell, formerly of the New York 
Times; Col. Wm. A. Phillips, of the New York 
Tribune and The Nation, but still a resident of Kansas 
— these and many other names of prominence, were 
once connected with the Kansas press. Not alone 
in aiding the struggle for freedom during our early 
history, nor 3'et entirely in disseminating informa- 
tion as to the soil, climate and productions of Kansas, 
have the newspapers of Kansas helped the State to 
achieve its triumphant success. The press of this 
State has been first and foremost in promoting every 
8 



170 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

effort for developing the best interests of the State. 
Men of character locating in our border have been 
welcomed by name, and gratuitous advertisement 
has been given of the merits of improved machinery 
or valuable stock. Whenever new and attractive 
fields of immigration have been opened in remote 
counties, the press of the older settlements have 
been first to herald the facts. The best methods of 
tilling the soil, of harvesting the crops and of caring 
for the stock are obtained from experienced farmers 
and published by our sagacious newspapers, and 
a generous rivalry is maintained between farmers, 
neighborhoods, towns, and counties by the printed 
reports of progress among all. 

Eailroads, those necessary avenues of travel and 
transit, have been built in Kansas with greater rapid- 
ity than in any other state ia the Union, but the 
influence of newspapers in preparing the way for 
their construction is appreciated by very few. Rail- 
road projects must always take shape by the action 
of the people living upon the proposed line. They 
alone can afford to contribute the time and money 
necessary to perfect an organization, to obtain a sur- 
vey and engineer's estimates, and to secure franchises 
of lands and bonds, and local subscriptions, and it is 
only when these things arj done that capitalists can 
be induced to look at the enterprise. Towards the 
accomplishment of this tedious, tiresome, thankless 
task the press of the state has always freely contrib- 
uted its invaluable aid. Notices of meetings, descrip- 
tion of routes, labored editorials, columns of statis- 
tics and a startling array of figures, all have been 
issued gratuitously and in profusion. 

Manufactures, schools, churches, villages towns, 
cities, have all received the support of the Kansas 
press. In short our newspapers have never failed to 
hold up to the public, the mirror of today and have 



1 



NEWSPA.PERS. 171 

painted without stint of color, the possibilities of 
to-morrow. 

fExtract from an addrea^ delivered before the Editors' and Publishers' Associ 
ation of Kansas, January 17, 1871, by Ward Burlingame, Esq.] 

"Why is it that Kansas has a greater number of 
newspapers than any other equal population in the 
world? It is not because our people are peculiarly 
a reading people, because in that respect other locali- 
ties rival us. Nor is it because the newspaper busi- 
ness is productive of large and prompt pecuniary 
results; for I much doubt whether there is any other 
branch of business, employing the same labor and 
capital, the gains of which are so small and precari- 
ous. The true explanation of the circumstance is 
found in the fact that Kansas is in its formative 
state; eveiything is growing, nothing completed; 
the map of a year ago is out of date to day; towns, 
cities, villages, are springing up on every hand ; large 
bodies of land just vacated hy worthless and semi- 
barbarous tribes, are yielding to the impress of set- 
tlement and civilization ; agriculture encroaches upon 
the desert; immigrants from every State and of 
everj^ nationality are flocking to our borders; rail- 
ways penetrate unpeopled regions, and from nothing 
thriving communities are evolved by their mysterious 
influence. 

''In securing these results the press is an active and 
powerful agent. Hence, new towns, new interests 
invoke their co-operation. Among the earliest of 
the pioneers is found the country editor — among the 
earliest of local institutions the country press. Ex- 
panding beyond the necessities of the present, it 
builds upon the prospects of the future, and thus, 
blending an individual with a patriotic purpose, it 
strives with admirable and ever-restless zeal for the 
realization of those prospects through the develop- 
ment of its section. It is surprising to note that 
newspapers, and good ones, too, are maintained in 



1T2 

localities where we would not deem it possible -Wefe 
the fact not apparent. This state of affairs is itself 
an eloquent tribute not alone to the energy, persever- 
.ance and pluck of newspaper men, but also to the 
practical good sense and wise forethought of th0 
people who sustain them." 

If an}^ persons outside of Kansas do not decide 
to start for Kansas immediately after reading this 
book, they are advised to select a paper from the 
following lists, and send to its address the price of a 
year's subscription. If they do not find in its columns 
all the information they desire, they have only to 
inform the editor who will gladly print such state- 
ments as will meet the case. 

Citizens of Kansas should give to their local paper© 
a liberal support. The man who does not take one- 
or more pajjers published in his county, commits a 
crime against his own neighborhood. Help j^our 
papers — subscribe for them and urge others to sub- 
scribe — furnish them advertising and give items to 
the editors concerning all matters which interest 3'ou. 
Anything which interests you will be quite certain 
to intei'est the editor and his readers. In short, help 
jour editor and he will help you, 

I/ist of Newspapers Published in Kansas. 

The following list embraces all the names of papers 
that I can obtain at the time of going to press. New 
ones are coming out every week, and it is safe to say 
that there are one hundred papers issued regularly 
in Kansas, aside from the real estate papers. I have 
also collected as full a list of the latter papers as pos- 
sible, which is quite incomplete however. The real 
estate papers are issued once a quarter or once a 
month, and are sent free to all. 

The newspapers are sent for $2 per annum, except- 
ing the Kansas Farmer, $1, and the Educational 



NEWSPAPERS. 173 

JourDal, $1 50, r.nd the Medical Herald, $3 per annum. 
Only the last or principal names are given. The 
list is arrano;cd alphabetically in reference to towns, 
and this will scivo to show at a glance in what 
county the principal towns are situated, and also the 
county seats. 1 am indebted to Mills & Smith, of 
lola, and Emmert & McCulloch, of Humboldt, for 
assistance in preparing t'lis list. 

Coanty seats in caps, d stands for d.ii'y, w for weekly, and m for monthly. 

Town. f:'ounty. Name of Paper. 
ATCHISON Atchison Champion, d and w 

" " Patriot, d and w 

Altoona Wilson U"ioD, w 

Arkansas City Cowlej' TravH er. w 

Augusta Biuler Cresrpnt, w , 

ALMl Wabaunsee '. Union, w ^ 

Baxter Springs Ci erokee Sentinel w 

PUKIJ^'GTOX OofTey Patri t, w 

BURLINuAME O-age Chronic'e, vf 

BELOIT Mitchell Mirror w 

BELLEVILLE Republic Te escjpe. w 

Chetopa Labette dvance. w 

Columbus Cherokee Journal, w 

" " Independent, w ,. 

COUNCIL GROVE Morris Democrat, w 

C NCORDIA Cioud Empire w 

Clvde " Watchman w 

COTTONWOOD FALLS.. ..Chase Lea.er, w 

CLAYCENTRJ3 Clav 

ELDORADO But er Tim*s, w 

EMPORIA Lyon Ne e, d and w 

" " Tri' une. w , 

" " Educational Journal, m..., 

Brie Nor-gho I<h > a"life, w , 

EURRKA Greenwood Ilera -', w 

Elk Falls H-.ward Exa^inie-, w 

Elk Citv Montgomery Star, w ,. 

FORT SCOTT Bourbo Mmit r d and w 

" " Democrat, w 

Frankfort Mushall New Flnme, w ' 

Fontani '^•inmi •-azeft'', w 

Florence Marion Pioneer, w , 

FRED<'NIA Wilson Journal, w 

GARNETT Anderon PI .in Pealer. w 

GTRATtD Crawford Pre s, w 

HIAWATHA Brown Sent" e', w 

*' •' Disvafch w 

Humboldt Allen Uni ri, w 

" " State.vman. w 

lior TOV Jnn ..;on News w 

TOLA A len Regi-t r, w 

Irving Marshall t-ecordo-, w , 



174 



Town. County. Name of Paper. 

INDEPENDENCE Montgomery Tribune, w 

" MontgoiLery Republican, w 

" " Democrat, w 

JUNCTION CITY Davis Union, w 

LAWKENCE Douglas J urnal, d and w 

" " Tribune, d and w , 

" " Democratic Standard, w., 

" " l^anner, (German) w , 

LEAVENWORTH Leavenworth Time?, d and w 

" " Bulletin, d and w , 

" " Commercial, d and w , 

" " Call, d 

" " Farm< r, m 

" " Gardener, m , 

" " Presse, (German) w 

" " Medical lerald, m 

LA CYGNE Linn Journal w 

LYNDON Osage S'gnal, w 

Labe'te Labette Sentinel, w 

LOUIS VIL' E Pottawatomie Reporter, w 

Longton Howard Ledger, w 

Lindsay Ottawa Pioueer, w 

MINNEAPOLIS " Independent, w 

" " Settler, w 

MARIOV CENTRE Marion Western Giant, w 

MANHATTAN Riley NHtionalist, w 

Medina Jefiferson Ntw Era, w 

Mound City Linn Sentinel, w 

MARYfcVILLE Marshall Locomotive, w 

NEOSHO FALLS Woodson Advert ser, w 

Netawaka Jackson Herald, w 

New Chicago Neoaho Transcript, w 

Kecdosha Wilson Citizen, w. 

" " Enterprise, w 

North Topeka Shawnee Times, w 

OLATHE Johnson Mirror, w 

" " News Letter, w 

Osage Mission Neosho Journal, w 

OSKALOOSA Jefiferson Ii.dependent, w 

" , " Statesman, w 

OSWEGO Lai ette Regi;ster,w 

OTTAWA Franklin Journal, w 

" " Herald, w 

PAOLA Miami Republic an, w 

Pleasanton Linn Press, w 

Parker Montgomery Record, w 

Parsons Labette Sun, w 

SALINA Saline Herald, w 

" " Journal, w 

SENACA Nemaha Courrier, w 

Spring Hill Johnson Enterprise, w 

TOPEKA Shawnee Commonwealth, d and w. 

" " Record, d and w 

TROY Doniphan Republican, w 

Thayer Neo'iho Criterion, w 

Wathena Doniphan Reporter, w 

Wamego Potdwattomie Valley, w 

WASHINGTON Washington Republican, w 

Wateryille .....Marshall , Telegraph, w, , 



REAL ESTATE PAPERS. 



175 



Town. 

White Cloud 

WYANDOTTE . 
WICHITA 



WINFIELD 



County. Name of Paper. 

.Doniphan Chief, w...* 

.Wyandotte Gazette, w 

.Sedgwick Videite, w 

" Tribune, w 

.Cowley Censor, w 



REAL ESTATE PAPERS. 



Atchison 



Burlington 



.Atchison Northern Kansan 

•' Index 

.Coffte Frte West 

" Register 



Burlinpame 

Council Grove 

Cottonwood Falls , 
Emporia 



.Osage Journal .... 

.Morris Advertiser. 



...Cha>e Register , 

...Lyon Reg ster 

,.. " Bulletin 

" " Reporer 

Eskridge Waubonsee Land Mark 

Fort Scott Bourbon Immigrant 

" " Record 

Garnett Anderson Index 

Humboldt Allen Reporter 

Holton Jackson Bulletin 

Junction City Davis Register 

" Guide 

Lawience Douglas Adv cate 

Manhattan Rilf^y Home tcad 

O'athe JohRf^on Register 

Ottawa Franklin Guide 

" " Pioneer 

" " Register 

Pomona " Pomona for a Home. 

Pleasanton Linn Fanner 

St. Marys Pottawatomie Advertiser 

Topeka Shawnee Advertiser 

" " Star of Empire 

" ' Publisher 

Wakefield Clay He' aid 

Winfield Cowley Settlers Guide 



176 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 



COMMON SCHOOLS. 

The common school system of Kansas is modeled 
after the most approved systems of other states with 
such amendments as experience elsewhere has 
shown to be desirable. Sections 16 and 36 in each 
township in the state are forever set apart for the 
creation of a fund the interest of which is to be used 
for the payment of teachers. School lands may be 
sold upon petition of the residents of the county 
where the3^ are situated. The proceeds are invested 
in Kansas State, or United States Bonds and the 
interest only is applied to the paj-ment of teachers 
wages, in proportion to the number of persons in 
each district between five and twenty-one years of age. 

The above sections are secured for school purposes 
out of the Osage Trust Lands, but a few smaller 
Indian reservations were exempt, as well as small 
military reservations. Were it not for these reser- 
vations there would be devoted to this purpose one- 
eighteenth part of the whole state (there being 36 
sections in each township) which would make about 
5000 square miles of 640 acres each, or 3,200,000 
acres. The amount cannot be less than 3,000,000 
acres. About 200.000 acres of school land were sold 
during the year 1870 at an average of about $Q 20 
per acre. The school lands are not put upon the 
market in any county until they are in demand and 
by law cannot be sold for less than $3 per acre, 
and it is fair to estimate their value throughout the 
state at $4c per acre. This will give a fund of $12,- 
000.000, sacredly devoted to the cause of education. 

The following tables are compiled from the Tenth 
Annual Report of the Superintendent of Public In- 
struction. 



COMMON SCHOOLS. 



177 



TABLE sTwwing the Statistics of the. Public Schools of 18'.0 in r^ery county 
then organized. 



COUNTIES. 



Alien 

Anderson 

Atchison 

Bourbun , 

Brown 

Butler , 

Chase 

Clay 

Craw'"ord 

Cherokee 

Cloud 

Cofifey 

Davis , 

Dickinson 

Doniphan 

Do'-glas 

E Isworth 

Frankliu 

Greenwooi 

Jacks n 

JtfiFerson 

Johnson 

Lahetre , 

Leavenworth .. 

Linn 

Lyon 

Marion 

Mar hall 

McPberson 

Miami 

M>irris 

Montgomery .. 

Nemaha 

^ eosho 

Osage 

Otawa 

Potawattomie 

Riley 

Rei uhlic 

Silino 

Shawnee 

Sf-djjwick 

Waliannsee 

Washirgton ., 

WilBon , 

W'O'^son , 

Wyandotte 



Total. 



S id 
3 ■ 

~u 

41 

57 
74 
56 
26 
21 
36 
92 
72 
23 



So 

a'"' 

o 

— o 

0(a 



St 



11 



46 
63 
92 
78 
81 
15 
28 
27 
77 
60 
13 
52 
27 
18 

101 

117 
3 
97 
23 
6<1 
98 

108 
43 

129 
90 
77 
4 
54 
2 
92 
20 



B2 



1" 



1,392 

1,496 

2,351 

3.487 

1,7-3 

561 

564 

401 

1,960 

2 200 
2'.*7 

1 439 
696 
347 

3,310 

4,622 
64 

2,543 
612 

1,670 

3 180 
2,932 
1,634 
6.212 
3.303 
2,088 

85 
1.333 

25 
2,470 



1.6«6 

1,009 

2,067 

869 

1.3iV2 

1,027 

183 

414 

3,000 

62 

550 

64S 

933 

751 

1,833 



ESTIMATiD VALUATION. 



uild'gs and 
grouuds 



$27,777 00 

28,000 00 

102 546 (0 

41,288 U 

37 927 00 

8.500 CO 
12 750 00 

5,867 00 

5 168 00 

9,480 00 

a5rt 00 

28,850 00 

14,340 00 

9,190 00 

45,841 00 

119,095 00 

2,200 00 
32.995 00 

6.125 00 
35,500 00 
68 734 00 
44,610 00 
22 OIK) 00 
177,757 75 
35.230 00 
47,900 O') 

2,110 00 

33,116 00 

400 OU 

(0.854 00 

17,745 00 



53,415 CO 
11.410 0(1 
64,020 60 



28,735 00 

29,136 00 

6:^5 GO 

10,2(0 00 

126.000 00 



8,165 00 

11,455 00 

6.930 90 

6,4a5 10 

61150 < 



Furniture. 



$1,804 00 

2,320 00 

5 620 oO 

2,370 00 

3,695 00 

7«M) 00 

1,000 60 

156 75 

995 00 

740 00 

50 00 

2,785 00 

915 00 

515 00 

5,400 00 

7,196 GO 



2,120 00 
118 00 
1,500 00 
V,076 00 
3.64S 00 
3.00 > 00 
17,200 15 
2 922 00 
2 043 00 



1,590 00 



2,860 00 
1,232 60 



3 663 00 

7(0 00 

2,790 60 



2,0S2 GO 
2 100 IM) 



818 00 
4,500 00 



498 00 

1.044 00 

323 60 

415 00 

5,510 00 



1,501 369 2,240163,218 $1,620,011 4U$100,916 60 



178 






HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 






TABLE showing the comparative advance of the Public Schools 


of Kansas for 






ten years, from 


1861 to 1870 inclusive. 






^bJD 


^ ti 


Average 


NO. TEACHERS 


empl'd 


.^ver'ge s.\l'y 






a 




t me 








PER MONTH. 


o 




t 


o^ 
















YBAB. 


00 


Is 


taught. 












U 




o 








i 






i 


=" M 






° S 




O 




Mon'hs. 


"3 


33 


i 


"3 


"3 

3 


si 




^ 


^ 




^< 


^ 


H 


S 


fe 


> 


1861... 


12 


144 

















1862... 
1863... 






32 


90 


229 








$ 10.432 50 
32,970 60 


33 


506 


3.8 


161 


400 


564 






1864... 


33 


640 


3.5 


205 


527 


732 


$27 00 


$16 10 


76 500 71 


1865... 


3ft 


721 


3.4 


247 


6.52 


899 


46 74 


34 41 


1-^2,822 61 


1866... 


37 


871 


4. 


405 


681 


1,086 


41 27 


28 90 


318,897 31 


1867... 


42 


1,056 


4.3 


541 


664 


1,205 


39 44 


26 51 


573,690 08 


1868... 


43 


1,2.32 


5. 


746 


855 


1,601 


39 56 


29 OS 


813,062 75 


1869... 


43 


1,G21 


5. 


896 


1.118 


2 014 


37 07 


28 98 


1,031,S92 00 


1870... 


47 


1,950 


52 


1,079 


l,16i 


2,200 


39 60 


31 10 


1,520,041 40 



The reports show that out of 359 school houses 
built during 1870, 45 were built of logs. The aver- 
age per cent, levied in 1870 fcr the erection ofbuild- 
ings and all other purposes, was $0.0347. The total 
amount received by the school district treasurers 
from- all sources for 1870, was $799,318.51, and the 
total amount paid out was $712,601.73. 

In all towns of any considerable size there are 
graded schools, and one or more central school build- 
ings, costing fiom $5,000 to $75,000 and other smaller 
buildings, as the public needs require. AH these 
schools are open and free, being supported by the 
State school money, and by direct taxation. There 
are salaried county superintendents in each county 
whose duty it is to give direct personal supervision 
to matters connected with public schools, besides 
which each city has its superintendent. There are 
two Normal schools, one at I^eavenworth and the 
other at Emporia. That at the former city was but 
recently opened. That at Emporia has been in suc- 
cessful operation for six years. The attendance for 
1870 was 111 males, 132 females. It is devoted to 



COMMON SCHOOLS. 



179 



the work of fitting its pupils to become teachers in 
our common schools, and is supported by the State. 
The State Agricultural college at Manhattan is 
endowed by a land grant of 70,000 acres of land. It 
also receives State aid and is in a prosperous condi- 
tion. 

The State University at Lawrence is open to all 
of both sexes without tuition fee. Its endowment is 




LINCOLN SCHOOL, TOPEKA. 

46,000 acres of well located land, and about $150,000 
contributed to it for buildings, etc., chiefly by the 
city of Lawrence. It has a permanent fund of $10,- 
000 contributed by Amos Lawrence of Boston, and 
aparatus costing $15,000. It has nine salaried pro- 
fessors, and fitly crowns the splendid school system 
of this state, by oifering an education of high char- 
acter free to all. Its students for 1870 were 97 males 
and 116 females. Its buildings are illustrated and 
described elsewhere. 



180 Hutchinson's Kansas. 

BeBides the State Institutions of learning already 
mentioned, there are several well established schools 
of high grade, under denominational control 
Among them is Baker University, at Baldwin City 
and Collegiate Institute at Hartford, under the M. B 
Church ; Washburn College, Topeka, Congregational 
Episcopal Female Seminary, Topeka; Lane Univer 
sity, Lecompton, United Brethren ; Ottawa Univer 
sity, Baptist ; Wetmore Institute, Irving, Presbyte 
rian ; Eoman Catholic Colleges at Leavenworth 
Atchison, St. Mary's, Topeka, Fort Scott, and else^ 
where ; and various other lesser academies and pri 
vate schools. 

BENEVOLENT AND REFORMATORY INSTITUTIONS. 

A large and well ordered State's Prison is located 
near by Leavenworth. The State Asylum for the 
Blind is located at Wyandotte ; that for the Deaf and 
Dumb at Olathe; and the Insane As3'lum at Osa- 
watomie. These institutions are all under the guar- 
dianship of the State authorities and are supplied 
with convenient buildings and necessary attenJ.ants. 



THE CHURCHES AND THE CLERGY. 

The following article upon the above u>y,\Q was 
prepared at my request by licv. R. Cordley, the well 
known pastor of the Congregational Church at Law- 
rence, which position he has filled with great accep- 
tance for fourteen years : 

" The early settlers of Kansas included a large pro- 
portion of religious men. This might have been 
expected, as a largo share of these settlers came as 
a matter of conscience, to establish iroodom and 
equal rights en these plains of the west. One of 
the first things they did after setting up a tent or 



1 



THE CHURCHES AND THE CLERGY. 181 

building a hut to shelter their families, was to pro- 
vide churches and schools, where these families 
might worship and be instructed. Keligion and 
learning were among their first thoughts. In Law- 
rence, for example, in one month after the first 
company of immigrants arrived, regular religious 
services were established with a settled minister. 
Steps were at once taken for building at least two 
churches. In other places, church organizations, 
with their pastors, went with the colonies in the 
style of the Mayflower pilgrims. One of the first 
things now in a new town, is to build a church, and 
these churches are generally well sustained, and are 
doing a good worR. There is great liberalit}^ in 
maintaining christian institutions, and no people, in 
proportion to their means, pay more freely for 
religious objects than the people of Kansas. Within 
the last three or four years, some very handsome 
churches have been built. In Leavenworth the Cath- 
olics have a cathedral that cost some $250,000. The 
Baptists have about completed a very fine church in 
the same city that has cost some $60,000. At i\tch- 
ison the Methodists are building a YGvy handsome 
structure. In Law^rence theCongregationalists have 
a church that has attracted general attention for its 
completeness and beauty. Its cost was about 
$45,000. 

^'All denominations are represented in Kansas. 
The Methodists take the lead in membership, the 
Baptists coming next. The PresbjHerians are quite 
strong. Especially in the south part of the State. 
The Congregationalists have some strong societies 
and are quite numerous, especially in the northern 
part of the State. The Episcopalians are very active, 
and exhibit a missionary zeal that is commendable. 
There is generally the kindest feeling between differ- 
ent denominations. All joining in the common work, 
rather than trying to supplant each other. The 



182 Hutchinson's Kansas. 

churches have generally come to the wise conclusion 
that they can prosper better in the general pros- 
perity of all, than in mere denominational expansion, 
which builds one up by pulling another down. 

"The Kansas churches general l}^ have an able min- 
istry, more than usually so for a new country. While 
there are no 'stars' that attract special attention, 
the ministry generally are cultivated, earnest men, 
and up to the times. They are ' workmen that 
need not to be ashamed.' 

" The churches are having a healthy growth. They 
are growing both by immigration and conversion. 
Special interest is reported in many places, and 
every season witnesses more or less of the fruits of 
such special interest. The religious future of Kan- 
sas is as bright as that of any new State. There 
are dangers, but there are also promising signs. The 
churches are sound, outspoken and aggressive. They 
work as if they meant to ' occupy the land.' " 

TAXES. 

By the constitution, the state debt of Kansas can- 
not exceed one million dollars. JSTo town, county, or 
state debts were incurred during the war, as Kansas 
volunteers always kept up the state quota. Taxes 
are less than most states. The state tax levied by 
the Legislature for 1871 is six mills on the dollar, 
which includes one mill for general school fund. The 
levy for 1870 was seven and three-fourths mills. 

The assessment of taxes on real estate is made 
between the first daj^ of March and the first day of 
July, and the taxes so assessed are due and payable 
on the first day of November following. If not paid 
by the tenth day of January next thereafter, a pen- 
alty of ten per cent, is added. If not paid by March 
1st following, a fee of twentj^-five cents for adver- 
tising each tract, except town lots, is added, and ten 
cents for each town lot. If not paid before the first 



1 



TAXES. 183 

Tuesday in May following, the land is sold for the 
taxes and the foregoing expenses. The whole amount 
draws interest at the rate of fifty per cent, per an- 
num. If not before redeemed by the owner, the 
purchaser of the tax title receives a tax deed at the 
end of three years. The purchase money, with all 
the subsequent taxes up to the date of deed, interest 
being computed upon the whole at fifty per cent, per 
annum, and the cost of making and recording the 
deed, is the consideration of said deed. 

In two years after recording the deed, the same 
becomes absolute, and suit is barred, excepting where 
there are minor heirs, and they have until they 
become of age and one year thereafter in which to 
redeem, by paying for improvements, which may 
have been made upon the land by the tax purchaser, 
together with the taxes and interest as allowed by law. 

The Topeka Record says, January, 1871: "In a 
recent decision — Bowman et al vs. Cockrill — our Su- 
preme Court has affirmed the validit}^ of tax deeds 
given on sale of land for non-payment of taxes, and 
sustains the statute of limitations, which bars an 
action for the recovery of property so sold and deeded 
after the expiration of two 3'ears from the time the 
deed shall have been recorded. 

" The court also decided in the same case, that the 
statute does not require that the tax deed shall be in 
the exact form therein prescribed, but only substan- 
tially in that form." 

I also quote from the Statutes as follows: "As 
between the grantor and grantee of any land, where 
there is no express agreement as to which shall pay 
the taxes that ma}^ be assessed thereon, if such land 
is conveyed between the first day of March and the 
first da}^ of November, then the grantee shall pay the 
same ; but if convej^ed between the first da^^ of No- 
vember and the first day of March, the grantor shall 
pay them." General Statutes, 2-). 1062, sec. 140. . 



184 



Hutchinson's kansas: 



1^ 















.•* 



CO ^-' so 

GO ^j n 
th P a> 



•doiyo sjjOar) jjAing 
(S8J0B 0f9) 89IIUI ojtfnbt 



eo^ — , •*, '^. '-o. i—^ o -i-^ OS 1-- o 



OC ur. (D !M irt (M -O I- -* 

1— lC500u^Ot-,05 — ^ 



rJ>O(N>-'00l~0CCi-l03'* 
O^O t-_^:C CM -- CC^OJ ??_« ■-<_ 
cc" rC' CO' O -N ■>Tc^ o' 'm' -*' •*" 
C -*< C 'M "» "M 1 - CD 1— I t^ Tj< 
■<*i3;iO.f:C00Xr-|-. •'tOl 
I-! 1-4 Tl? ^' (m" r-T 



00 « lO^rf 0>0\ ■*,« < 
•.f M* r-T 00 Os'tN «"l-4"( 



O»^C0t^0COOi-t» 

— - ■— ; '"', "^^ '". ■*, ^, '^, "^ 

cj" ^' t-' ^f ic o' o' — ' ■»*r 

i-HTiT'irt'oi'o" 1-4" oT'*" 



R. ^. ^^ 't. '^^ "^l ■*, ^, °i. 

O' t4 im' -t «-<' CO oo' k' ■*" 

OC-lOOiOCiOOO 

r-T i-T CO 'O" CO" r-T 



lO C3> ' 



cTao' r-T r-T 

to -M - CO : 

»*> I- O u- ■ 

* fO'r-T, 



CO -^ C CO 
■* Ci rc O 
O ■M C»_0O 

©"aTt-Too" 



CO -I" fN C-l O I^ ^'i CO l^ Ci - 
C^C4_Tp rH T*<_^O_a3_C0__O CO_'N_> 
t-4'ir;'"iO o'co'co*" r-T n' 1—1 !rf o'l 



00 05 'M C3 O CO O 
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Co'iM't-'siS of 



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lOOTjioit-oc^t^ior- 

iCOOOCOi^lOt-iOr-C^ 



: .2 J3 ■ 



1111 IsllllllisSI III g£c 



* -^ * * 



GROWTH OF KANSAS. 



186 



(M -ri (M I 

-- >(5 (N '_ 

^ O" oo't-^ od 50~t-^ r-i' <n' ( 



C-1 t- <M >(5 (N O i-H 



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oo to 


t— iro»-'— i'Ot^-o^ 




?;sg§sssKS? 


t^ •rf 












*iOi— IfNlOt^OCOOt- 




-^COrHt-t-COOO-O 


^03 


O5C0 r-JOO tH O O 



SOtO-^'+CC'CtNOJ 
03 CO <N CO CO (M C<1 O 3; CD 
OOOiCCO— «Ot:l~-0Or-J 



c i-i o coco t- 
t^ a; CO T— CO -♦< 

O C-J CO 05 o> iC_ 
■>*' iM O' =' '^' co" 
CD lO <>) I— CO 1^- 

05 CO OJ CO CD l-^ 
eo' of r-T r-T r-T Co' 






■r-iC0O5C501CO'M-)< 

i-T co" 



CO 1-1 O C<) CO 



r-'MiOCO<M — 03iC<NC0 

COO — oor*<co^-*<og; 
c: o CD CO 1-c 'i^ '-',', "-^ ''i. 

re ^"-^'t^ ,-1 o -* !M ■* 00 

cDcoo;,-Ht:-(MC30)gico 

^(MOOCOt-Oi-l CO^OO 



CJi 05 r-H l^ .— •>* 

CO z; M CI CO oo 
^^ -+' o CD in 00 

-» -f >« -* iC 

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r -► CO t^ CD 
— CO 0\0i cc_ 

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CD ~ 00 -tl r-M 



r CO t- 0C> 1— I 



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; -tl CD (M_^ C-J^ C<1 CD^CD ao__ I 

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10 -*■»*< CO •* 



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r- • • at 0» oc = 

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• JE c 



TAXES. 187 



TABLE showing square miles of counties not included in foregoing table. 

Barbour 780 Phillips 900 

Barton .....' 900 Pawuee 900 

Comanche 780 Pratt 900 

Clarke 780 Reno 1512 

Ford 900 Bu-li 900 

Graham 900 Rooks 900 

Hodgeman 900 Russell 900 

Harper 1152 Rice 900 

Kiowa 900 Smith 900 

Lincoln 720 Sumner „„„ 1162 

Norton 900 Stafford 900 

Ness 900 Trego 900 

Osborne 900 

It should be borne in mind that there are few 
counties in which there is not more or less land 
exempt from taxation owing to the title still vesting 
in the United States. The Osage Trust land was none 
of it subject to taxation, although largel}^ settled 
upon. Montgomery county for instance, showing by 
the last census 7,613 inhabitants. 

It is to be noted especially that Kansas has grown 
to its present position almost entirely diirivg the last 
five years. A comparison of the census for 1860 with 
that for 1865, will show that the growth was confined 
almost exclusivel}^ to counties containing consider- 
able towns. Kansas did not gain in population 
during the war like other western states, nor in 
wealth like all other northern states. B:;t if we 
exhibit the growth for ten years from 1860 lo 1870, 
it still shows that Kansas distances all com; etitora 
in the march of empire. 



188 



HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 



TABLE showing the increase of population in all the states and the percentage of 
in-crease. 



STATE. 


_« o 


a 

^o" 
SCO 

C-r- 


O £ 

11 


Alabami 


964,201 
435.450 
379,994 
460 147 
112,216 
75,080 
140,424 

1.057,286 

1.3 428 

1 711.951 
647 699 

07,306 

1,15J,584 
7(>8.U(i2 
628.279 
687.049 
749,113 

1,231,063 
172,023 
7fll,.J05 

1,182,012 
28.8J1 
672 035 

3,880.735 

6,857 

992.622 

o26,073 

2,339.51 1 
52,465 

2,906,lli 
174,620 
703.708 

1,1 ('9 801 
604,215 
31.. .,098 

1,596,318 
775 8«0 
150.229 


1,002,000 
486,103 
556,2< 8 
537.886 
126.050 
13i;889 
1X9 995 

1,185,000 

1,676046 

2,527 032 

1.190.845 
362,307 

l,32;i,264 
728,n0i) 
630,243 
781.0.-6 

1,181.296 

1,449042 
3^.5 000 
834.190 

1,690.716 
116,888 
9(,65U 

4,370,846 
41 8':6 

1,085.500 
318,300 

2,652,3(12 
90,92-2 

3,517,272 
217.319 
735.001.1 

1,258.3-^6 
797,500 
330.585 

l,657,5r& 

1,055 296 
319.(t.->3 


4 


Arkansas. 


12 




47 




17 


Delaware 


12 




76 


Florida 


35 


Georgia 


12 


ludiana 


24 




48 


Iowa 


77 


K.iN8AS 

Kentucky 


a38 

15 
3 


Maine 


0.3 


Maryland .... ... 


14 




58 




18 


Minnesota 


95 


Mississiiipi 


6 


Mi^H.^nri 


43 


Nebraska 


201 


New J»-reej' 


34 


New York .... 


13 


Nevada 


501 




9 


*N6w Hampshire 


-2.4 


Ohio . 


14 




73 




21 


Rhode I-land 


26 


South Carolina . 


6 




14 




82 


Vermont 


5 


•j-Virginia .... 


1.5 


Wiso.nnfin 


36 


Territories 


112 



*New Hampshire shows a decrease of two and four tenths, (2 4-10) per cent 
in the ten years. 

f Virginia includfs Wist Virginia in this calculation, there having been no 
division in 1860. 



KANSAS SECURITIES. 



189 



The following table exhibits the increased valua- 
tion of the taxable property of Kansas from year to 
year from 1865 to 1870 inclusive and the per cent, of 
increase: 

TABLE showing increased valuation for six years. 



Year. 


Assessed valuation 


Per ceat. in- 
crease. 


1865 


$36,140,827 00 
50,439 634 96 
56,276.036 00 
66,949,549 88 
76,-393,685 00 
92,528,099 00 


46 


1866 . 


104 


1867 


127.5 


1868 ,».. 


179.0 


1869 


217.0 


1870 


275.0 



KANSAS SECURITIES. 

There is no donbt that this State offers great 
attractions to capitalists or any who have money to 
loan. The legal rate of interest by contract is twelve 
per cent, per annum, and an almost unlimited amount 
of money can be loaned at this rate, payable annu- 
ally, on long time, with security upon improved 
farms, or good city property, at one-third their pres- 
ent value. On shorter time and similar security, or 
good names, money readily commands 18 to 20 per 
cent, per annum, the surplus over 12 per cent, being 
added to the note. Decisions have been made which 
leave no doubt as to the legality of this proceeding. 
Mortijages are so drawn as to waive the right of 
redemption, and to include all expense of foreclosure 
and collection. It is surprising that people will eon- 
sent to loan money in the eastern states at five, six 
or seven per cent, per annum, when such rates 
are to be obtained here. Besides, our securities are 
constantly increasing in value, and by the time irmg 
notes would full due the property will be worth two 
or three times its present ratf. Our county, city, 
township and school district bond>< urc also f-xccllent 
investments, as they are a lien upon the entire prop- 



190 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

erty of communities whose rapid growth is shown 
by indisputable statistics elsewher^^ given. If any 
inquire how people can afford to pay such rates of 
interest, I think they have only carefully to look this 
book through, and they will discover several suffi- 
cient answers to the question. Among the most 
desirable of the many attractive investments which 
offer in this State are railroad bonds. The cost of 
constructing these roads across our comparatively 
level country is light, while their long reaches of 
easy grade and of air line road, greatly lessen the 
cost of keeping them in repair. Eunning through 
fertile regions which are rapidly settling with an 
enterprising people, these roads must become im- 
menselj" valuable, while the enormous land grants 
with which they are endowed give additional secu- 
rity to the bonds. These bonds are offered at such 
rates that they afford an investment which yields an 
income at least double that to be obtained in the 
eastern states on loans. The}' also offer the further 
advantage that they can be converted into cash at 
any time, or may remain as a permanent investment 
for any desired period. 

LIST OF BANKS. 

List of B^kks and Bankbps in tbe State of Kanjias on May 1,1871. 
Prepared by the Adams National Bauk of lopeka. 

Augusta. Chetopa. 

Brown Brothers. W. B. Ketchum & Co. 

Atddson. 

First National Bank. Emporia. 

\Vm. HetheriDgton & Co, Riggs, Dunl.ip & Co. 

Atchison Saving-* Bank. Neo.-iho Valley Bank. 

Americus. Empjri.t Bunk. 

T. C. Hill. Eldorado. 

Burlingam^. Wal jUt Valiey Bank. 

P. C. Schuyler & Son. Eureka. 

Burlington. Edwin Tucker. 

Jarboe, G irretson & Co. Fort Scott. 

Baxter Springs. First Natioual Bank. 

Ymh Winkle A Slater. Farmers and Mechanics Bank. 

Cherokee County Bank. B. P. McDonald. 

Ccu'icil Grove. Tan Kossen & Button. 

Ck>uncil Grove 'avin^s Bank. Phillips & Scovell. 



BANKS AND BANKERS. 



191 



Gamett. 
John R. Foster & Co. 
Humboldt. 
Pratt & Ten Kjcke. 
Allen County Bank. 

lola. 
lola Bank. 
L. L. Northrup. 

Junction City, 
James Streeter & Co. 
Robert S. Miller. 

Lawrtnct. 
The National Bank. 
Second National Bank. 
Simpson Bruthers. 

Leavenworth. 
First National Bank. 
Second National Bank. 
Newman k Havens. 
Scott & Co. 
Hines & Jtaves. 
Clark & Co. 
German Savings Bank. 
Leavenworth ^aving.s Bank. 

Manhattan. 
E. B. Purcell & Co. 
Wm. P. Iliginbotham. 



Okithe. 
First National Bank. 

C. E. TValdron & Co. 

Ottawa. 
First National Bank, 
ghepherd & McQuesten. 

I'aola. 
Miami Savings Bank. 
V. C. Jarboe. 

Salina. 

D. W. Powers & Co. 

Seneca. 
Lappin <fe Scrafford. 
Topeka. 
Adams National Bank. 
Kansas Valley National Bank. 
Topeka Bank. 
F. W. Giles & Co 
Guilford Dudley. 

Wajnego. 
Mucke & Shortridge. 

Waterville. 
Marshall County Bank. 

Wyandotte. 
B Jiidd. 

Petor Conr:elley. 
KftDsas State Savings Bank. 



SURVEY OF GOVERNMENT LANDS. 



The public lamis of the United States are surveyed under direction of the 
Commissioner of the General Laud Olflce, Washington, D. C. The United States 
is divided into surveying istricts, each in charge of a Surveyor General. The 
Surveyor General fo: Kansas is Hon. C. W. Babcock, whose office is at Law- 
rence. 

All the public lands in the United States are now surveyed under the same 
system by which they are dvided into tr cts six miles square, called townships, 
and each township is subdivided into tracts one mile square, called sections. 
North and south and east and west lines are run by government surveyors, 
who set stones or stakes to mark the corners of the vari ^us divisions. 

As all the north and south township and section lines are run upOB the true 
meridian — that is, each line, if extended, would pass through the north and 
Bouth poles — it follows that all these north and south lines converge, or ap- 
proach each other towards the north. From this the reader will see that 
neither the townships nor sections can be precisely square, as the line bounding 
the north s'de of each tract must be a trifle shorter than the line bounding the 
south side of the same tract. Besides thii, it is impracticable, if not impOiBi- 
ble, for the surveyors to measure the lines with perfect accuracy. 

In commencing the surveys of each district, base lines and principal merid- 
ians are establiihed, the former running east and west, the latter north and 
riouth. 



192 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

To counteract tbe error that would otherwise result from the convergency 
of lines, as above described, and to avert errors arising from inaccuracies in 
measurement, other lines are es ablished, running parallel to the hase lines, 
called standard parallels. In Kansas, and a'ways if the townships are num- 
bered south from any base line, these parallels are 30 miles apart, but in Ne- 
braska, or wherever the townships number north from the base lines, the 
parallels are 24 miles apait. Upon the parallels the couvergtncy, or tendency 
to run togeher of the north and south township and section lines, is corrcted. 
On the parallels is o'^servable a jog or offset in the north and south lines, part 
of the stones or stakes marking the corners of the townships an 1 sections 
north of the standard, and part marking the corners and sections south of the 
parallel. 

For convenience in surveying, guide meridians are also established, running 
north and S(aith, 4S miles apart. 

From the point where the base line and the principal meridian cross each 
other, the toivnships are numbered north and south, and the ranges of town- 
ships ea t and west. 

Any number or sfries of contiguous townships situate north and south of 
each other, or in other words any north and south row of townships, constitute 
a range. The ranges are designated as range No. — east (of the principal 
meridian,' or as range No. — we-t (of the principal meridian ) No two town- 
ships ill any one range are numbered alike. In any one ro.* of townships run- 
ning east and ivest^ all the townships are uumliered alike, but are distinguished 
from each other by designating V e number of the range in vrhi'h a -y particu- 
lar town-ihip IS situa ed,aDd whether the range is east or west (of the meridian.) 

A glance at the map will show a base line on the northern b-'Undary of Kan- 
sas, and the sixth principal meridian crossing it between Republic and VS'aph- 
ingtou c unties. To describe a township, we say it is, for inst nee, township 
No. 17 south, of range No. 5 east, meaning south of the base line and east of 
the meridian. If north of the base or west of the meridian, it would be de 
scrib- d accordingly. The township just described is in the southwest corner 
of Morris county, Kansas. 

Upon the western p rtion of our map is an enlarged township, which is 
subdivided into sections, there being 36 se tious in each townsh'p, wli ch ar© 
num' ered from the northeast corner of each township. In subdividing • 
township in-o sections the surveyors commence at tiie southwest crner of 
the southeast section and run a ' alf mile north, and establish a quarter section 
corner, then a half mile fur her north and establish a eecti.m corner, t-en dae 
east, as it is supposed this cours will strike the nor- heast section corner of 
section thirtj'-six, and which corner was set in running the exterior lines of 
the tnwn-hip. This last line s called a "ran'om" line, and at a half mil« 
distant a random cor ler is set, wlience the surveyors proceed to the northeast 
section coru<'r aforesaid. If they do not strikn the corner, they measure the 
'falling," or distam e "ither norh or south of the (*aid corn r at which they 
intersect the town lip line. They then go back to the northwest co'ijer of 
section 36, correcting the random quarter corner if it was wrongly est blish«d 



SURVEY OF GOVERNMENT LANDS. 193 

by moving it north or south, as the case may be, one-half the measurement of 
the aforesaid "falling''\ From the last named section corner they proceed 
northward a mile and then eastward a mile and return, establishing the section 
and quarter section corners as before. But any excess or deficiency in measure- 
ments is thrown into the last half mile before reaching the north line of the 
township. 

They then return to a point one mile west of the point of beginning, that is, 
to the southwest corner of section 35, and repeat the procees by which th^ first 
tier of sections was laid off. The random east lines are in each case run due 
east one nile, to the previous' y established section orner. The surveys of each 
township are closed out on the north and west lines of said township, and if 
there is any excess or deficiency in the land, that is, — as no township makes 36 
sections, each precisely a mile square — the excess or deficiency is all thrown 
into the row of quarter sections on the north and west lines of each township. 
This explains why these quarters are always fractional, containing more or 
less than 160 acres each. 

Each section, excepting the fractional sections, is considered to be a m'le 
square, aod is always reckoned as containing 640 acres — each half, or quarter, 
a proportional amount. Forty acres, or a tract eighty rods (quarter of a mile) 
square is the lowest subdivision made by the government in disposing of its 
lands, but the corners of 40 acre tracts are not marked by the surveyor. These 
corners are regarded by law as points intermediate between the half mile or 
quarter section cornerfi. In fractional quai ter sections the excess or deficiency 
is thrown into the west 40s, if on the ivest side of a township, and into the 
north 403 if on the north side of a township. 

Stakes or Stones are set at each township corner, at each sectio7i corner and 
on section lines, half way between the sectional corner stones. The latter are 
called quarter stones, for they mark the corners of the quarter sections, but no 
corners are established in the centre of the sections. The only exception to 
th's rule about quarter section stakes or stones is, they are not required to be 
established on the west boundary of the western tier of sections in a township, 
nor on the north boundary of the r orthern tier of sections in a township south 
of and bordering on a standard parallel or base lice. This exception applies 
only to such surveys as are made subsequently to the instructions of the Gen- 
eral Land Office of June 1, 1864. 

Pel sens having occasion to establish a quarter corner stone in the centre of a 
section (which is never set by government surveys) will bear in mind that if the 
section is bounded on its north side by i standard parallel or base line, then there 
is no quarter section corner on said standard or base for the said section, but 
only for the section laying north of the standard or h&se, provided the survey 
was made since 1864. 

Marking the Comers. 

When posts are used they are to be squared above the ground, and at the cor- 
ners of the townships and sections they should stand diagoLally, or with their 

9 



194 Hutchinson's Kansas. 

corners toward the cardinal points of the compass. On each surface of the 
X>ost commfm to four towtiships, is to be Kiarked the number of the particular 
township, and its range, which it fares. Thus, if the post be a common bound ry 
of four townships, say one and two, south of the base line of range one west 
of tha meridian ; also to townships one and two soutii of the ba e line, of range 
two west of tiie meridian, it is to be marked thus : 



From north to east V T. 1 S. From eaat to south 



R 


1 W 


'J-. 


IS. 


S. 


31 


2 


W. 


1 


s. 


36 





From north to west y 1 S. From west to south 



■) 1 W. 

^ 2S. 

i 6 

^ 2 W. 

} V- 



The letters preceding the figures indicate range, township and section. The 
letters following the figures refer to the points of compass 

Township cornpr posts, common to four townships, are also notched with six 
notches on each corner. 

Stones common to four townships are only marked with six notches, cut with 
a pick or chisel on each edge or s:de towards the cardinal points. 

Instructions are given ihat when stones are used (fl it atones are prescribed) 
the edges mu>t be s<?t north a-jd sjuth on north and south lines, and east and 
west on east and west lines. 

Posts or Stones at township corners on th base and standard parallel lines, 
and which are common t > two townships on the north side thereof, will have 
six notches on each of the west, north and east sides or edg s ; and whee such 
stones or posts are se' for corners to two towuehin-! south of the base or standard, 
six notches will be cut on each of the weot, south and east sides or edges. 

Sect'onal posis or stones on range and township lines must have as maiy 
notches on them on two opposite angles or si Jes thereof as they are miles dis. 
tant from the township c aners respective'y. If on range Imes (which run 
north and s uth) they will be mar ed on the north and south sides. Township 
lines run east and we t, and the sectional posts or stones thereon are marked 
on the. ea^ and west sides. 

Posts or Stoxes set previously to 1864 at the corners of s^ctio-is in the inte 
rior of townships niu-it iLdica'e, by a number of n tches on eacli of their four 
corners or sides, direjted to the cardi al points, the corresponding number of 
miles that they stand from the outlines of the township. The four sides of a 
post at the corner of sections will also indicate the number of the sect on which 
each side respectively faces, and on one side it should bo marked the number of 
the township and range in which it is situated. 

Posts or Stones s-t subsequently to 1S64 at the corners of sections in the 
interior of townships, will have as many notches on the south and east e Iges, or 
sides, a^ they a e miles from thn south aad ea-it -boundaries of the township. 

A quArter section or half mile j)o.«; will have no other marks upon it than "J^ 
S" to indicate what it stands for. 



SURVEY OF GOVERNMENT LANDS. 195 

Stones, when used for quarter section corners, will have "^ " cut on them, on 
the west side of north and south lines, and on the sauth side of east and west 
lines. 

A TREE may be use 1 instead of a corner post if it stand in the proper place 
«nd it is to be marked in the same manner as a post; but if Hi bark be smooth 
the marks may be on the bark and the tree notched. 

Meander Corner posts or stones are planted at all points wh*re <he township 
or section lines intersect the banks of such rivers, bayous, lakes or islands, a0 
«ire by law directed to be meandered. 

Bearing trees are trees adjicent to corner posts <~r corner trees. They are 
dist ngushed by a largH, smooth blaze, with a notch at its lower end, faciKg the 
corner, and in the blaze is marked the number of the range, township and 
section, but at quarter sectioi corners "^^ S" only, is marked. The letters 
"B. T." (bearing tree) are also to be marked upon a smaller blaze directly under 
the larger one. 

At all township and section corners, four bea-ing trees, if such be found, arc 
marked in this manner, one to stand in each of the adjoining fcections. A 
quarter section and meander corners, two bearing trees are to be marked, one 
within e ich of the adjoining sections. 

Mounds. "Whenever beaing trees are not found, mounds of earth or stone are 
to be raised around posts on which the corners are to be marked in the m inner 
aforesaid. If the mound is constructed of earth, a spade full or two of earth 
should betaken fropi the corner boundary jjomi, and in the cavity a ma ked 
Btone placed, or a portion of charcoal, or a charred stake, driven twe've inches 
down in o the centre point. Since 1864 it has been required that posts in 
mounds be driven twelve nchesdeep at the precise corner point, and fhemtrked 
fit ne, charconl or charred stake is to be placed twelve inches below the sur- 
face on one side of the post. 

Toionship mounds are to be five feet in d ametsr at their base and two feet 
in height. 

Section, quarter- section and meander corner mounds are to be four and a half 
fe «t in diameter at their b ise and wo feet high. 

Prior to 1864 quadrangular trenches were eqaired, the sides to be s'x feet 
long at township corners, and five feet long at se:;tion, quarter-section aud 
meander corners. 

If a t )wnsh!p or sectioi co'-ner post fall in such situafon that the na-ture of 
the ground .s not f ^vorMble to t le e ection of a mound, then in some conv 'uient 
situation near by, a witness mound will be e ecteJ and with charcoal, ch irred 
St ike, or ma-ked st'kti dep 'sited tlic^rein as before described The distance and 
bearing of this mound from the true corner is to be t-tated in the field notes. 

Pits. The excavation made in digg'ng eirh to firm the mound U called the 
pit, and smce 1864 it is required that t ere be four pits, which, for township 
corners sh 11 b i eight 'en inches wide, two feet in length, and at least one foot 
deep, located six feet Irom the post. At section corners the pits will be eighteen 
nches square. 



196 Hutchinson's Kansas. 

At meander corners the pit is to be directly on the line, eight links farther 
from the water than the mound. 

At township or sectional corners common to /our townships, the pits should 
be on the lines and lengthwise to them. 

On base and standard lines, where the corners are common to only two town 
ships or sections, three pits only aro dug — two in line on e.ther side of the post, 
and one on the north side of the line for standard corners, and one on the south 
Bide of tlie line for closing corners. 

Standard corners, a e corners on a ba=e or standard parallel — which comers 
are common to two townships or sections north of the base or standard. Such 
corners are marked "S. C." in addition to the other marks before described. 

Closing corners, are coruers on a base or standard parallel, which corners 
are common to two townships or section corners south of the base or f-tandard^ 
Such corners are marked " C. C." in addition to the other marks before described. 
Standard corners, are east of the corresponding closing corners, lor all ranges 
numbered east of any Principal Meridiao, a-'d they are west of the correspond- 
ing closing corners, for all ranges numbered west of any Principal Meridian. 

Su'h corners are nowhere else to be found, and are called double corners. 

Lines run through timber should be marked by cutting two chops or notches 
on each side of every tree two or more inches in diamet^ r, which is on the line^ 
Other trees standing near the line are to be blazed on two sides diagonally, or 
quartering tow^ards the line. 

A surveyor's chain is four rods or sixty-six feet in length, and is composed of 
one hundred links, each link being seven inches and ninety-two hundredths of 
an inch long. 

Length of lines — 1. Every north and south ^^eciion Zinc, except those terminating 
in the ujrth boundaiy of the township, must be eighty chains (one mile) long 

2. Every east and westsectioa line, except those terminating in the west 
boundary of the township, are to be w ithin one handred links of the actual 
distance established on the south boundary line of the township for the width 
of said tier cf s3ctions. 

3. The north boundary and south boundary of any one section, except in 
the extreme western tier, are to be within one hundred links of equal length. 

4. The meanders within a fractional section, or between anj' two meander 
posts, or of a pond or island in the interior of a section, must close within 
one chain and fifty links. 

All considerable streams or bodies of water are meandered. The courses and 
distances of their windings are taken and entered in the field notes, and where 
the bank intersects a towoship or section line, stones, stakes or mounds are 
established (on both banks of a stream) which are called meander corners. 

Variation of the Needle. The true meridian at any place is a line which 
if prolonged would pass through both the Lorth and south poles. 

The magnetic meridian at any place is a line, extending in the direction in 
trhich the compass needle lies when at rest undisturbed by local attracticns. 
This line does not coincide w.th the true meridian anywhere in the United 



i 



SURVEY OF GOVERNMENT LANDS. 197 

States, exc pting upon a certain line whi'-h is constantly, but slowly, moving 
westward and now runs west of north near Cleveland. Ohio. 

The an.gJe which the magnetic meridian makes with t' e true meridian, at 
anyplace on the lurfice of the earth, is called the variation of the needle at that 
place, and is east or west, accordins as the north end of the needle lies on the 
east or west side of the true meridian. 

The variation of the needle at St. Louis in 1840, was 8° 37' east, and at the mouth 
of <he Columbia River was 21° 40' east. The variation is different at different 
places, and even at the same place it does not rema'n constant any length of time. 

In subdividing a township into s' ctions, the compa«!S is adjusted to a variation 
which will retra'-e the eastern bounda'-y of that particular township. 

In Kansas the variation at which the public surveys have been made is 
from about 10° to 15° east. 

The variation of tlie needle, whenever a Tne is run, is carefully noted in the 
field rotes. 

FiELB Notes are the records made by the surveyors of their work. The gov- 
ernment requires thaf th^y shall be "a faithful, distinct and minute record of 
every th'ng officially done or obf^erved by the surveyor and his assistants, pur- 
suant to instructions in relation to run'^ing, measuring and marki g lines, 
establishing boundary corners, etc., and present, as far as possible, a full and 
complete topographical description of the country surveyed, as to every matter 
of useful in'brma'ifln, or likely to grat fy public curiosity." 

There are separate and dist'n t books of surveys, ss follows : 

1. Field notes of the meridian and base lines, sh'-'wing the establishment of 
the township, section or mile, and quarter se"tion or halfmile boundary corners 
thereon, with the crossings of etreams, ravine.?!, hills and mountains; character 
of soil, timber, minera's, etc. 

2. Fie'd notes of the standard parallels, or correction lines, showing the 
estabMf^hment of the township, section and q'^arter 8«>ction corners, besides 
exhibiting the top^ography of the country on line a-' aforesaid. 

3. Field notes of the exterior lines of townships, showing the establishment 
of corne s on Ine^, and the topography as aforesaid. 

4. Field notes of The sectional lines subdividing the townships into sections 
and quarter sections, with the topography as afor said. 

The VHriah'on of the needle is alwiys given. The exhibition of every mile 
of surveying is complete in it-elf. The description of the surface, soil, min- 
erals, tim er, undergrowth, etc.. on each mile of line, follows the notes of 
survey of each line. 

In Oregon Washington and New Mexico, it is required that the field notes 
show tt e claims of thnse sett'e's who located prior to the survey. 

The original field notes are retained in the Surveyor General's oflBce, and 
transcripts are i^ent to the Gpu' ral Land Office j.t Wwshington, D. C 

Township plats ar" f-ir.iished to the district land offices, and accompanying 
them are descriptive notes as to the char;icter and quality of the soil and tim- 
ber found o" and in th vicinity of each surveyed 1 ne, and a descrifttion of each 
.corner boundary. 



198 

As the field notes are confined to the lines mntioned, they cannot giye s 
tTiorough r'escription of the couuiry, and the mention made of soil gives only 
an idea of the relative value of the land along each line. 

Locating missing or misplaced quarter section stones. 

From a letter addressed to ihe editoi- of The Land Owner, Chic;ago, Illinois, 
dated N vember '20, 1870, and signed Jose h S. Wilson, Commissioner of the 
Gtneral Land Office, Washington, D. C, I collate the following : 

First identify the sectional coruer fctones nor'h and touth, or east and west, 
then run asd measure a stra'ght line between the two stones thus identified. 
Next examine the original fi-^ld notes, (or a copy) and if the present mea-ure 
corresponds with that recorded in the original field note^, then estab'ish the 
quarter sec in corner at forty chains, (160 rods,) otherwise e-tablish it half 
way between the said sectional coiners. 

To locate toe quarter section corner in the centre of the section, (which is 
left unlocated by government suivey) run a line north and south, and a line 
ea'^t and west through the centre of the section, between the quarter sec, ion 
corners on the ection lines, and the p^int of intersection or crossing of these 
lines is the ,'ej.ai centre corner. 

How to obtain surveys in advance of regular surveys. 

By an act of Congress approved May 30, 1862, it is p orided thit when the 
settlers in any township or towuships not mii eral or reserved by government, 
afaall desire a survey to be made of the same under the authority of a -urve;, or 
General of the United Sta'es, it may be doi.e uudei certain co.'idition . (Sec, 
10, p. 410, Vol. 12 U. S. Law^.) 

It is prescribed by the Commissioner of the Genera' Land Office tha' apprca- 
tions for surveys under this law must be made to the ?urve3'or General in 
wriiing, upon receipt of whi.h he will furnish the applicant with an estinsate 
of how much the desired suivey will cost. Upon rtceipt of this estimate the 
applicant must d posit ihe required s m with any United Sta'es Depository, 
(certain National Banks in each stnte and territory^ receiving a certificate of 
deposit ther-for, made layable to the Surve.^or Gene;al, an! showing for wha^ 
purpofe the money was depo ited. This certifii ate is to be sent to the Surveyor 
General, and upon its receipt he will contract with a competent U. S. Deputy 
Sarreyor, and have the survey made and retu ned in the same manner as other 
poblic surveys. 

Tlie payment of the amount required for the survey will not give the deposi- 
tor any priority of claim or rij;ht to pu chase the land, or in any mann' r affect 
the claim or claims of any p:irty or parties thereto, and when suiveyed it will 
be sn''ject to the same general laws and regulations in relation to ihe disp si- 
tion there 'f, as v ould have contiolieJ its disposal had the survey been n.ade ia 
the regular and ordinary manner. 

ACQUIRING TITLE TO GOVERNMENT LANDS. 

Title to public lands can only 1 e obtained through the Register and Receiver 
of the U. S. District Laud Ort ce<, of which there aie several in each State and 



ACQUIRING TITLE TO GOVERNMENT LANDS. 199 

Territory. They act un'ler direction of the Commissioner of the General Land 
Office at Washington, D. C. 

Surveyed Lands — Public lands are considered to be survey d when official 
notice to that effect pa-'ses from the survtyors through the Lan 1 Office ut Wash- 
ington to the land officers in tlie district wl er such land is situated. Prior to 
this these lands are unsurveyed lands, and no title can be obtained to them in 
any ma' ner, excepting only the inceptive right of a pre-empion selt'er, 

Unoffered Lands are lands which have been surv yed but have not been offered. 
Offered Lands are lands which have been surveyed and also 'offereil" at 
public auction, pursuant to pr. vipus public notice by advertisement. 

Minimum Lands are those which are not sold for less than one dollar and 
tweLty-five cents per acre. 

Double Minimum Lands are those which are not sold for less than two dol- 
lars and fifty cents per ac e. The odd numbered sections only are granted to 
railroads, and the even numbered se'tions are doubled in price, becoming 
Double Minimum Lands. In Kan as the Missouri, Kan^^as and Texas and the 
Missouri River, Fort Scott and Gulf railroads have a right to even as well as 
odd numbered t-ections within the indemnity limits, that is, outside of the ten 
mile limit and within the twenty mile limit. Government does not double 
the price on the even numbered se^tiojis in the indemnity limits. 

Land Warrants are assignabl ■ certificates ''ssued by the government 'o dis- 
charged 8 , Idlers and sailors entitliug tl'e legal holder to either forty, sixty, 
eighty, one Lundied and twenty, or one hundred and sixty acres ot minimum 
offered public land, or as half pay f r double minimum offered land, the ether 
half being paid in cash. Wariants may be used in payment for pre-emptiw^s 
with the sime limitations as abjve, concerning Double M ninanm Lands. 

Agricidtural College Scrip is as-ignable Laud Scrip, issued to the several states 
to aid in the e>t.iblishnierft of Agricultural Colleges. 

First — Thti legal holder is entitled t > a .«pe ified amoimt of offered minimuni 
land, but he is rettricted to quarter ^ections which have two sides hounded, by 
a section lii e, or rt may be Located on any parf of a qn r!er section vlie e such, 
part is taken in f 11 for a quarter section, but nc t more than three sectic7is can 
be taken with ih.s scrip in any one township. The amount that may be located 
in any one state is also lim ted to 1,000 000 ..ores. 

Second — This scrip is taken in paynrent of j^re-emption claims without regard 
to the quaniity located in any one townsh'p or state, but ui.der the same con- 
ditions as land wa- rants, if u ed to p e empt double minnimum lands. 

Private Entry— Offered lands 07ily are subject to private entry. At private 
entry any person may purchase land to any extent by making written api lica- 
tion to the register, describing the land he wishes to buy and giving its area. 
He pays therefor $1 . 5 or $2 50 per acre in cabh, or with duly at signed warrants 
or scrip under above nameil limitations. 

There are no lands in Kan-as subject to private ei.try at $2 50 per acre and 
very little at $1 2.5 per acre. 

Pre-emption — By this proce s and no other, excep ingby homesteading, &tit]& 
can be acquired to public land which is unoffered, but offered may also be jfwe-- 



200 Hutchinson's kansas. 

empted. Every head of a family, or widow, or single man or woman, over 
twenty-one years of age, being a citzen or having filed a declaration of inten- 
tion to become a citizen, can pre-empt one hundred and s'xty acres of either 
minimum or double minimum laud by paying therefor and complying with 
certain i egulations. The (qualified) party who makes the first settlement upon 
aay public laud by improving the same is entitled to the right of pre-emption, 
if the pre emption laws are subsequently c. mplied with, iuelndiug filing upon 
the same. His right dates from the time he performed the first work on the 
land. 

Those who settle upon unsurveyed land must in order to pre-empt, within 
three months after date of receipt at the district land ofiice of the app oved plat 
of the township embracing their claims, file their declaratory state went of 
setfement with 'he register, and thereafter make proof and payment of the 
tract within eighteen months from the exp'ration of said three moi ths. This 
gives twenty one mor ths after the survey-* are received by district landoflBcers, 
within which pre-emptors must pay for land. 

Upon unoffered surveyed land a pre-emptor must filed with the register his 
declarafo y stati-ment within three months from the date of such settlement, and 
must pay for the land within twenty-wie months from date of S'-ttlement. 

Upon offered land the statement must be filed '^ithixi thirty days of settlement, 
and within oae ye r from the date of such filing the land must be paid for. 

By an act of Congress approved July 14, 1870, nil settlers who had filed for 
pre-emption previous to that date, w ere required to pay f r their Imd before 
July 14, 1871, but during the spring of 1871 Congre-? extended th's titae cne 
year, ihat it^, until July 14, 1872, but this extension applies only to those who 
filed previously to July 14, 1870. , 

Tiie act o* making any improvement of whatever character upon the land 
claimed, is recognized as a settlement. 

A pr -emptor cannot pay for laud uutil he has actually resided upon the same 
fo- a period of at least six months and before paymeut must swear or affirm : 

"That I have never had the benefit of any right of pre-emption uii'ler thia 
■act; that I am not the OM'ner of three hundred and twenty acres of laud in any 
State or Territory of the Uniied States, nor have I settled upon ad improved 
said land to sell the same on speculation, but iu good faith to appropriate it to 
my own exclusive use or benefit ; and that I have not, directly or indirectly, 
made any agieemeut or contract, in any waj' or ma-uer, with any person or 
persons whomsoever, by whic the title which I may acquire from the Govern- 
ment of the Un ted States shou d inure, in whole or in i art, to the benefit of 
any persou except myself." 

This affi avt must be su ported by at least one witness, who must appear 
with the pre-emptor before th district laud officers in person. Ihe t^etler can 
then se ure .he lau i by payiug iu cash, ai by filing a warrant, or Agricultural 
Scrip duly assigned. 

If a pre-eiiip;or dies before pirfoctin r the title, his or her rights descend to 
the "heirs." The cxei-utor or admiuistiator may make proof of occupation. 



ACQUmiNa TITLE TO GOVERNMENT LANDS. 201 

and pay for the land, and the patent will issue to "the heirs of the deceased 
settler." 

Pre-emptors are entitled to lands at one dollar anfl a quarter per acre within 
the limits of railroad grants, provided they locate before the lands were "with- 
drawn" (that is withdrawn from settlpment and sale to enable the railroad 
company to locate its li e after which the land is a ain open to se'tlementi 
excepting that tLe odd numbered sections within a certain distance are donated 
to the railroad.) Kansas grants are all for ten miles on each side, but the limits 
are extended to|so much land within twenty miles on each side as is necessary to 
replace the od num ered sections that may have been disposed of by the gov- 
ernment before the grant was made to the railroad. 

The double minimum lands are confined to the limits of the original grant; 
and the even numbered section-- outside of the original grant, but within the 
indemnitij limits, aro fl 25 per acre. 

HoMESTEAPiNG— The Homestead Laws permit a'^y person to acquire by occu- 
pation and the payment of commissions and fees hereafter noted, one hundred 
and sity acres of S!(rve2/e'^ niinin^"™ ^^^^ or eig'ity acres of doubl° niinimum 
land. Undpr this law the spttler may file on the land he desires to obtain, and 
that filing holds good for six months, during which time the settler must take 
possession of the land by occupation and improvement. Affirlavit must be 
made that he or she is the head of a family, or is fwenty-one years of ase, and 
that such application is made for his «r her exclusive use and ben fit, and that 
said entry is made for the purpose of actual sftt'euient and cultivation, and 
not either directly or indirectly for the U'^e or benefit of any o'her person or 
persons whomsoever, and that the applicant has not heretofore lad the benefit 
of the Homestead Act. If the applicant is actually upon the land and cmnot 
by reason of dis ance, bodily infirmi y, or other pood caufe, personally go to 
the district land oflBce, the affidavit iiiay be made before the clerk of the court 
for the county within wh'ch the land is situated. 

Officers, soldiers and sailors who have served ninety days, and remained loyal, 
may taae under homestead laws, < n" hundred and sixty acres instead of eighty 
acreis of double miuiumm hind, but no other di.i iuctions whatever are made 
between these and any other persons. The applicant must make oath as to 
the company anl regiment in wbich he served. 

Within seven years from the date of the duplicate of entry given to the settler 
by the receiver at the district land office, the settler mu«t personally appear 
at said office and make affidavit that he or he has resided upon or cultivated 
the same for the term of Jive years imm -diately succeeding the time of filing 
the affi avit of entry, and th -t no pa't of the land is alienated. Th*- five years 
of occupation date, not from the date of ent^y tut from the date ef settlement. 
The affidavit of -eltlement mu«t be corroboratf d by two crrdible witnesses. If 
by reason of physical disability, distance or other gof'd cau«e, they cannot 
accompany the s ttler to the di.strict land office, their testimony may be takm 
before any officer autliorized to • dminisf er oaths and who uies a seal. lie muat 
certify ^o the credibility and tespon-iliil ty of the witiie>6es, ^nd state the rea- 
sons of ti eir inability to attend ai tiie land office. The registt-r and receiver 



202 

endorse their opinion upon the testimony and aGBdavit, and tranem't them to 
the General Land ■ ffice at Washington. If the proce dings are satisfactory to 
them they also give a certificate to the settler. 

If a homestead settler dies, the wirlow, or if she die, the heirs, may continiie 
the settlement and cu tivation and ob'ain title. If both rarents die, leaving a 
child or children under twei ty-one years of age, the homestead may legally be 
sold by the administrator. 

Homesteads are not liable for any debt or debts contracted prior to the issuing 
of the patent or deed therefor from the goverm ent. 

CoMMUTiXG A Homestead— Homestead settlers may pay for their land in ca^ h 
or wai rants at the government price, $1 25 or $2 50, upon making proof of 
actual rtsidence and cultivation for a periud not less than «<ix months from the 
date of entry to the time of payment. This proof must be by affidavit of him" 
gelf or hers If and two witnesses, made before the d strict land ofiBcers. 

Pre-emptors may change the'r filings into homestead fLWngs, excepting that i ^ 
a settler have a pre-emption filing on an odd section within a ^ailroad grant (i. e. 
taken before the landi were withdrawn for the railroad) the railroad righ • 
would immediately attach to the land, if he atten-ptto make a homestead filing 

Absence from a homestead more than six months at any one time before the 
expiration of tbe^re years, if proven to the sati-factionof the register after 
due notice to the settler fo)feits all right to the lau^. 

To cancel a homestead entry, the grounds must be f et forth in aflSdavit before 
the district land offi-ers. They notify interested parties and after trial send 
the testimony and their own opinion to Washington, for final decision. If 
returned cancelled the land thereupon be on es open to the first legal applicai t. 

The fact that a person has had the benefit of the pre emption act does not in 
any case inierf^re with his right to homestead. 

The fact tl at a per.-on has had the beueftt of the homestead act does not 
prevent him from pre-empting, but no one can leave liis or her own and n the 
same state or territory to take tbe f enefit of the i re-emption act. 

Inasmuch as b th homestead and pre-eraj tion require actual residence upon 
the land claimed, no person can hold laud under both acts at the same time. 

JVo person can pre-empt more than once. 

I^^o person can homestead more th n once. 

JVo person can file a declarat ry btatement for pre-emption if he has lega'ly 
filed before. 

.yo person can make a becon entry to a homestead unless the first entry was 
illegal 

Pre-emption aud homestead rig! ts or claims i an neither of them be legally 
assigned. Such claims may be sold, but thf seller must aband n the claim or 
resign his right to government, and the pi:rcha er must immediately proceed in 
all respects as if fettling upon unoccupied land, except ng ihat he is permitted 
to occupy the h">use of his pre ecessor, in-t'ad of building anoher, but his 
right dat s from filing, if on homestead, or settlement, if on pre-en ption claim. 



ACQUIRING TITLE TO GOVERNMENT LANDS. 203 

The right to a homestead dates from entry — that is, from filing, m hich holds 
the land six months, but improvements must be made within that time. 

The right to pre-emption dates frtmi settlement. 

Adjoining Farm Homesteads. — Any person oivning and residing on less than 
one hundred and six y acres of land, may hon.es'ead so much adjoining land 
as s' all, taken with his original farm, make a ya'ue of nof more than two hun- 
dred ddllars, computing in tkis estimate, the original farm at $1.25 per acre 
and the adjoining homestead at government price, whether $1.25 or $2.50 per 
acre, but if the orij,iHal farm be within a railroad grant, then the original 
fwn musL be computed at $2.50 per acre. 

Residence upon adjoining homesteads is not required, but in all ether respect 
the law makes the same requirt merits as it dO' s concerning other homesteads 
and cultivation is necessary. 

Claimants upon unsurveycd land orght to designate in some manner the 
boundaries of the land which they propo e t« enter, else others might make 
improvements which would, upon survey, fall upon the swme quarter section. If 
settlers locate*at least a half mile north or south, an east or west from each 
other, they will each get a quarter section by the surveys. If two happen 
to fall upon the same quatfer section it 's u-ually divided betveen them, 
unless the first settler established the lines of his claim w thin which the resi- 
der.ce of the other was afterwards locited. In this case the second settler gets 
nothing. 

Persons buying a c'aim on unsurveyed land should contract with adjoining 
settlers also, or the latter might claim the land tluis pur based, from the fact 
that their settlement dates prior to that of the purchaser. 

Entering Town Sites. — S\ henever any number of persons not less than 100, 
withe ut regard to age, sex or nuivity, locate upon any public land, to which 
n« prior claim exists, they may, any t me before it becomes subject to "private 
entry," enter said land a-* a t<iwn site. 

If there ar<i 100 persons and less than 200, ihey may enter any amount not 
exceeding 320 acres. If more than 2l.'0 and less than 1000 irihi.bitants, they 
may en'er not more than 640 acre«. If mo'e than 1000 inhabitant', 1280 
acres, and for each additional 1000 iuhabi'ant-, r.ot excfeding 5000, hey may 
enter a further amount of 32) acres. 

If incorporate'^, the corporate authorities must enter, otherwise the Judge 
of the county court may en er for the benefit ot the occupants, an i the land, 
or the proceeds thereof, shall be assigne 1 to the persons interested, it being 
divided iccording to the shaie to which each is entitled under regulations to 
be prescribed by the Legislative authority of the Stat.- or Territory in which 
the land is hi uited. 

In Kansas it is provided by law that a town site may be entered under alove 
named law of Congress, by the corporate authfrities, or tie Probate Judge of 
the county. Fee General Statutes of Kansas, p. 1073. 

i^'efs.- Pre-emptors must pay $2.00 for filing a declaratory statcmtnt of in- 
tention to pre-empt. For reducing testimory to writing when claimant.i es-tab- 
lifih pre emption and homestead claims, fifteen cents for each hULdred words 



204 



HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 



Fees and Commissions. 
For locating land warrants or Agricultural College scrip the following fees 
must he paid at the time of location : 
For a 40-acre warrant or college scrip, 50 cents each to the Rpgisfer and 

Receiver— Total $1 00 

For a 60-acre warrant or college scrip, 75 cents each to th« Register and 

Receiver— Total 1 60 

For an 80 acre warrant or ooUege scrip, $1 00 each to the Register and 

Rt^ceiver— Total 2 00 

For a 120-afre warrant or college scrip, $1 50 each to the Register and 

Receiver— Total 3 00 

For a 160-acre warrant or college scrip, $2 00 each to the Kegister and 

Receiver— Total 4 00 

Homestead Fees. — On purveyed lands in California, Nevada, Oresrm, Colorado, 
New Mex'co and Washington, and in Arizona, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and 
Montana,the commissions and fees are to be paid according to the following table: 




Commissions, 


Payab e when 
entry is made 


Payable when 

certificate issues 

$6 00 
3 00 
1 50 
6 00 
3 00 


16 00 
3 00 
1 50 
6 (10 
3 00 



Fees. 


ayable when 
entry is made. 


$10 00 
5 00 
5 00 
10 00 
5 00 ' 



Total Fees and 
Commissions. 


$22 00 

11 00 

8 00 

22 00 

11 00 



For homestead entries on surveyed laud io all other States and Territories 
including Kansa*, fees are to be pa d occording to the following table: 



5*^ 



$1 25 
1 y5 

1 25 

2 50 
2 50 



COMMISaiONa. 


FSES. 


Total F^es and 
Commissions. 


Payable when 


Payable wh' n 


Payable whf-n 




entry is made. 


certificate issues 
$4 00 


entry is made 
$10 00 




U 00 


$18 00 


2 00 


2 00 


5 00 


9 00 


1 00 


1 00 


5 00 


7 00 


4 00 


4 00 


10 0(t 


18 00 


2 (0 


2 00 


5 00 


9 00 



Officers, soldiers and sailors, taking 160 acres of $2 50 land, must pay double 
the amount required as commissions, in either of the above tables, but the 
fees are not increased. 

08AGE TRUST LANDS. 

That jiorM'on of the accompanying map marked "Osage Trust Land," was 
opened to settlement under two distinct laws and bence the north rn two- 
ifif ha is frequently called " "^rnst L«Tid," ani the soutVern three-fifths, "T»iTriQ 
shed Reserve," as it was held by the O^^ge Indiana after the first mentioned. 



ACQUIRING TITLE TO GOVERNMENT LANDS. 205 

was put in market. It is all sold by the goverBment in " trust" for the Indi- 
ans, and is all " trust land," and is to be disposed of in the same manner, 
under decision of the General Land Office, made March 29, 1871. 

It is only to be sold to actual settlers at $1.25 per acre and not more than a 
quarter section can be taken by any one settler. 

All settlers who were upon the land prior to the passage of act of July 16 
1870, must pay for the land on or before July 15, 1871. All who settle after 
the passage of act (after July 15, 1870) and before the surveys, must pay within 
one year from the survey. (Government lands are cmsidered to be surveyed 
when the ;]ats are returned to the Local land oflBces and not till then. See 
page 199. The surveys upon this land will probably be completed by Sep- 
tember or October, 1871.) Settlers after the surveys are returned, must pay 
within one year from date of settlement. Sections 16 and 36 are reserved for 
school purposes, as elsewhere in the State. Before making payment, all 
settlers must prove six months continuous residence on the land claimed, and 
actual improvement of some portion of the same. 

Claims mu-t be taken in the form of a square or of a parallelogram, and if 
they happen to be divided by seotional or township lines., this is still allowable, 
One, two, three or four forties (40 acre tracts) may be taken, but they must 
form a sauare body, or else all be in a roiv. If a settler found a square quarter 
sectii'n out of which one forty was already taken, he could not enter the three 
?ortifS remaining, but might enter either one. or he might enter any two of 
them which lay "side and side." Under above limitations lands may be taken 
through whch a " meandered stream " passes, or which is boundLd on one side 
by a " meandered stream." Fractional forties may be taken, but the excess 
must be paid for, or allowance will be mado for any deficiency in Imd, (See 
"Survey of Public Lands" for explanation of "fractional forties" an J "mean- 
dered stream-:.") 

All settlers must, within three months from date of settlement, file a declar- 
atory statement, as in pre-emption cases, and must correctly describe the land 
they claim, which must con orm in shape to above requirements. 

Settlers, when they file upon the land, and also when they make proof of 
settlement and payment, must make afiidavit that they have not, since July 15, 
1870, sold their right to, or voluntarily abandoned any tract of Osage Lands, or 
settled upon, improved, or filed for any other tract of said land than the one 
designated in said filing. 

After commencing a settlement upon these lands, hona fide pettlers will not 
forfeit their claims by temporary absence, provided, the absence was for the 
purpose of bringing their families onto the land, or for the purpose of engaging 
" in their calling of ' herdsmen '." 

Any person, male or female, native or foreign, 21 years of age, or the head 
of a familv, can enter " Osage Trust" or "Diminished Reserve" land in Kansas 
under above limitations. 

The United States laws relating to tovm sites, already explained, apply to 
these lands. 



206 



Hutchinson's Kansas. 



DISTRICT LAND OFFICES. 

The area of public lands in Kansas remaining 
unsold and unappro,)riated on the 30lh of June, 
1870, was 41,499,081 acres. These lands can be 
obtained throuii,h the various United States land 
offices, which are located as follows: 

Name of District. Location of OfiBce. 

Topeka Land District Topeka. 

Humboldt Land District Humboldt. 

Arkansas Lan i Distrct Augusta. 

Western Land Dis ritt Saline. 

Republican Limi 1 isiric^ Concordia. 

In the Topeka Land District there is very little 
government land remaining. 

The land north of the Osage Lands, in the Hum- 
boldt and Arkansas land districts, excepting that 
granted to railroads, is open to homestead and pre- 
emption, but is mostlj' taken up, except in Greenwood, 
J3uller and Sedgwick counties, and the region west. 




STEAM FLOURING MILL, POMONA. 

Watson Stewart, register at Humboldt saj's, "South 
of the Osage lands lying along the south line of the 
State, and west of the Neosho River, is a strip about 
two and a half miles wide, known as the 'Cherokee 



LAND SALES IN KANSAS. 207 

Strip.' It is unsurveyed and no provision is made 
for its sale." 

In September, 1869, all the land in the Western 
and Republican Land Districts east of the 6th Prin^ 
cipal Meridian was " offered " bj^ president's procla- 
mation, which made it subject to private entry, but 
it has been so affected by the withdrawals for rail- 
roads, that there is now no land here subject to 
])rivate entrj^ but the most of the land in these 
districts is still open to pre-emption and homestead. 

LAND SALES IN KANSAS. 

The following figures give some idea of the real 
estate business in Kansas during the year 1870: 

* At the Junction City Land Office : 

Sold for cash 186,985 acres. 

Entered as Homesteads 666,593 " 

Entered with Agricultural College scrip 35,200 " 

Entered with Land Warrauts 38.760 " 

Total 927,538 " 

At the Humboldt Land OfiSce : 

Sold for cash 274,931 acres. 

E tflred with Warrants aad Agricultural College scrip 19 571 " 

Entered as Homesteads 62.217 " 

Final Certificates to Homesteads 8 753 " 

Total „ 365,512 " 

At the Topeka Land Office : 
Total sales 84,182 acres. 

I have not at hand a detailed statement of the 
business at the Topeka, Augusta and Concordia 
Land Offices, but it was not as great as at the other 
offices, as the two latter are new offices, and as most 
of the public land is disposed of in the Topeka Dis- 
trict. At Topeka there were sold during 1870, by 
private land firms, 276,750 acres, for the sum of 
$1,133,644. This is exclusive of large sales by pri- 
vate parties on their own account. 

In these figures, which are all taken from the 
books of the agents, the sales by the extensive deal- 

* The Land Office was remoyed from this place to Salina in April, 1871. 



208 Hutchinson's Kansas. 

ersin Junction City and Humboldt are not included, 
but it is fair to suppose that the private sales in 
these two places are more than Topeka alone. 

We then have the aggregate land sales in these 
three towns, for the year 1870 as follows: 

Humboldt United States Land Office 365,512 

Topeka " " " " 84.182 

" Private LandOffices 276,750 

Junction City United States Land Office 927,535 

Junction Uity aad Humboldt Private Liand Offices 300,000 

Total acres .1,953,979 

The balance of private sales not reckoned in 
Topeka will make a grand total of at least two 
MILLION ACRES sold 171 the year 1870, in three towns 
IN Kansas. 

It is needless to encumber these pages with more 
dry figures, and the book is too small to exhibit the 
entire land business of Kansas, including the enor- 
mous sales' of six or seven railroad companies, and 
of land agents and land companies without number. 
The fact that land agents issue for free distribution 
more than thirty large and handsome real estate 
papers, certifies to the extent of their business. 

But in order to give our eastern friends an approx- 
imate idea of the stupendous transactions here 
taking place in real estate, let us suppose that the 
sales in the remainder of the State are only equal 
to the sales in the three cities enumerated. 

This gives a grand total of at least four million 
acres. Divide this amount by 640, the number of 
acres in a square mile, and we have 6,250 square 
miles of land sold in one year, and mostly to actual 
settlers. 

Our minds more readily grasp the immensity of 
these transactions if we recall the fact that the 
State of Massachusetts contains but 7,800 square 
miles. There was sold or taken up in Kansas, chiefly 



R/ILROADS. 209 

by actual fetflers, during the year 1870, an area r^f land 
almost equal to the entire State of Massachusetts. 

RAILROADS; 

There are now running in Kansas, (May, 1871,) 
according to the time tables before me, 1,393 miles 
of railroad, which has been almost entirely con- 
structed within the last two j^ears. These roads 
have been built in part by the aid of government 
bonds, but three-fourths of our railroad lines have 
been called into existence by the demands of com- 
merce, and have been aided only by land grants and 
local subscriptions. Kansas is a grand battle field 
for railroad kings, and this not as a matter of choice, 
but of necessity on their part. 

While there are in the United States many thous- 
and miles of railroad, it is apparent that most of the 
Northern lines are but parts of, or mere appendages 
to, four or five vast and powerful organizations which 
extend from the Atlantic seaboard Westward. These 
competing lines concentrate and contend at Chicago 
and St. Ivouis — the two great cities of the prairies — 
but the contest does not end in those cities. The 
trans-Mississippi region offers a vast business, which 
all desire, and it is the peculiar and fortunate situ- 
ation of Kansas that she lies in the pathway of these 
lines. The competing railroads of Chicago come to 
Kansas through southern Iowa and northern Mis- 
souri, and the competing railroads of St. Louis come 
to Kansas through central and southern Missouri. 

Here they do not concentrate at any one point, 
but by crossing each other, they establish points of 
competition in different sections of the state. Some 
run directly westward, to secure the trade of Colo- 
rado and the regions bej'ond ; others, southwest 
toward New Alexico, Arizona and Mexico, while 
others push directly south for Texas and the Gulf. 
9* 



210 HUTCHINSON'S gANSAS. 

If one were to rely simply upon a study of the map, 
it might appear difficult to assign any good reason 
why all thejse lines should come from Chicago and 
St. Louis to Kansas, especially some of those eon- 
tending for the Southwestern, or still more those 
looking toward the Texas and Gulf trade. 

There are various causes which produce this result, 
and without professing to be familiar with the hidden 
things of railroad magnates, we may discover some 
of these causes upon the surface. 

The vast flow of immigration to Kansas was quite 
sufficient to induce the construction of several roads to 
our border, and it is believed, because it is evidently 
true, that this great tide of immigration is to con- 
tinue southwest when Kansas prairies are all occupied, 
as occupied they soon will be. Besides, the people 
of Kansas earnestly desired railroads, and have given 
that local aid which is necessary to secure the atten- 
tion of capitalists. Most of our railroads have laud 
grants ; but land grant roads in other States have 
been awaiting for years the advent of capitalists, and 
are yet unbuilt. Notably among these may be men- 
tioned roads in Arkansas, and this brings us to other 
reasons why the roads of Chicago and St. Louis do 
not make a straight line through Arkansas to Texas 
and the G-ulf, instead of coming around through 
Kansas. 

The people of the former State have not been in a 
condition, and they are not altogether of the consti- 
tution to invite foreign capitalists to their State. 
Besides, there are engineering difficulties presented 
by the mountains of southern Missouri and Arkansas, 
and even if it was a level country, the cost of con- 
structing railroads would be greatly increased by the 
heavy bodies of timber occupying those regions. 
Southeastern Missouri chiefly, and almost the entire 
State of Arkansas, is a densely wooded country, 
and emigration moves and will continue to move 



RAILROADS. 211 

around those forests, following the fair and fertile 
prairie, which awaits only the plow, and corn- 
planter, and wheat drill ; instead of the axe, and 
mattock, and griibbing-hoe. These prairies, diversi- 
fied by convenient groves and beautified by bluff 
and stream, extend from Kansas through the Indian 
Territory, New Mexico and Texas to the Gulf, and 
into the adjoining Eepublic of Mexico ; and while it 
is evident to men who build railroads that these 
prairies will soon be densely populated, the surface 
of the country is such that it is also actually cheaper 
to come through Kansas to the Gulf than to go 
directly across through Arkansas, while the vast 
mineral and agricultural wealth of New Mexico is to 
be developed by the aid of our Kansas railroads. 

The time is not far distant when Arkansas, too, 
will be checkered by railroads; but she must await 
her time, and meanwhile two or three railroads will 
be built from Kansas to the Gulf and to New Mexico. 

But the thought of these vast southwestern prairies 
brings us to the last, but, perhaps, the most poten- 
tial reason for the chosen railroad routes via Kan- 
sas. Our State is the outlet for the vast cattle hive 
of Texas, because they can be driven here over the 
grass covered and abundantl}^ watered prairies which 
intervene, while they cannot be driven through the 
timbered regions we have referred to. The extent 
of this trade is enormous, and for this trade all these 
roads are competing, and they traverse regions 
which, as already shown, are to supply the beef mar- 
kets of the world. 

Concerning O'lr Southwestern roads they evi- 
dently are the shortest route from the cities named 
to New Mexico and the great Southern Pacific Eail- 
road, which, in a few years, is to be constructed by 
a short line to the Pacific Ocean, and in latitudes, 
where the snow never falls. 



212 Hutchinson's Kansas. 

Kailroad building has but just commenced in Kan- 
sas. It is safe to say that within three years, two 
railroads will be constructed from Kansas to the 
Gulf, and one or two more into New Mexico, and one 
or two others across the State to Colorado. The 
means for travel and traffic afforded b}^ railroads is 
a ncessity of modern life. Every count}" must have 
at least one railroad, and when the people get one 
they only become more anxious for another. Within 
the next few years thousands of miles of railroad will 
be built in this State, enablino; every farmer to reach 
New York in three or four days from the time he 
leaves his own door. 

Many of our friends in the East, and in particular, 
associations representing the laboring classes, have 
made great outcry at the land grants by which Con- 
gress induces the construction of railroads in the 
West. This honest but mistaken conviction is echoed 
by the political demagogues, who are ever on the 
alert for a ])Opular partj^ cry. The people who have 
lived any length of time on the frontier are not 
opposed to these grants. What would Kansas, or 
Iowa, or Minnesota be today without raili'oads? 
And yet we all know that without land grants there 
would not have been a hundred miles of railroad in 
Kansas to-day — ^lay, railroarls would hardlj' have 

a^eached our borders, but for their encouragement by 

land grants in States east of us. 

Instead. of ceasing to make land grants. Congress 

/ought to give hereafter more land than ever before, 
for the reason that all along our frontier, from the 
British Possessions to the Gulf, the settlements 
have reached the borders of the timberless plains. 
There are very few places to-day east of the Eo -ky 
Mountains where a pioneer can obtain for a home- 

tStead, timber and prairie on the same quarter section. 

'Jherefore, a railroad is to him a necessity. He must 

liave timber and coal Even where native hard 



RAILROADS. 



213 



wood timber is abundant, if people can have pine 
brought on a railroad, it is cheaper and better for 
building pui'poses. 

It is nonsense to say the necessary roads will be 
builD without land grants. Let the policy prevail 
that would stop all further land grants, and it will 
take a half a century to develop even the borders of 
our vast plain regions, equal to the growth and prog- 
ress they will exhibit in ten years under a liberal 
Jand grant system. Even with land grants it is no 
easy matter to induce timid capitalists to build our 
roads, as those of us can testif}^ who labored and 
waited many weary years for railroads in Kansas. 




EXCHANGE BANK, ATCHISON. 



214 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 



THE K. P. R. AND ITS TOWNS. 

First in order I ecause the first read conslructed in the State comes the 
Kansas Pacific Railway. This road has two eastern termini upon the Missouri 
river, one at the mouth of the Kansas river, and the other at Lertvenworth, ancl 
meeting at Lawrence. The charter required the first named terminus to be at 
the mouth of Kansas river, on the south side thereof wnich brings it to the 
State Line at Kansas City. This city is named from the Kansas river, but is 
not, as many suppose, in K msas, but in the State of Missouri, and therefore 
does not demand our attention. 

Wtandotte is on the no'-th bank of the Kansas ai^d the west bank of the 
Missouri river— handsomely situated upon the gently sloping bluff of these 
streams. A lively spring branch winds through the city. The trains of the K* 
P. R. are made up here, and the machine shops are here located, employing 
several hundred persons. The Missouri Pacific Railroad also continues through 
this city up the bank of the Missouri. The population is about 3,000. It is the 
county seat of Wyandotte coimly. About two-tbirds of this county was origi- 
nally timbered, but about one-balf of it has been cleared. The county Is noted 
for fruit productions. The State assessment for taxes is $3 per acre higher 
than in any other county in the State. Capt. Geo. P. Nelson, State Senator 
from this district, bu It au'l commanded the firsr steamboat ever built in Kan- 
sas. There were five steamboats built here for the Missouri river, of which but 
one is now runniug. The State Blind Asylum is located here, and numerous 
excellent business houses, residences and churches adorn the wide and graded 
streets. 

The K. P. R. from Wyandotte to La-vrence follows the Kansas river, and the 
traveller sees broad bottom lands from which the timber is being cleared for 
domestic uses, leaving fertile farms, but disfigured with the unsightly stumps- 
and logs of clearings. No towns of importance are to be found aloug this dis' 
tance of thirty-eigf t miles, although there are growing villages, and a few miles 
distant on either hand, is inviting and well settled rolling prairie. The stations 
are Armstrong, Muncie Siding, Secondine, Edwardsville, Tiblow, Lenape, Stranger 
and Fall Leaf. 

Leavenwortu Is situated on the Missouri river, twenty-five miles by land above 
the mouth of the Kansas. It is the chief city in the State, having a population 
of about 25,000. Ic is the county seat of Leavenworth comity. Th^ site is unt ur- 
pasFed for a large city, consisting of a series of gentle rolls and slopes, giving: 
admirable luilding bites and draiiiage, and covering an area of six or eight 
square mile". This beautifully varied surface reposes in a vast amphitheatre, 
formed by the Missouri Bluffs, which rise to a bight of about three hundrtd 
feet, and sweep around it in crescent shape, each horn resting upon the river. 
With its paved levee upon the river bank — with its miles of grade 1 and Macad- 
amized streets — with its long rows of three and four story brick and iron 
blocks — with itu numerous and weU filled wholesale stores of all classess — 
with its banks, its hotels, its schools, its gas, supplying all parts of the city — 



THE K. P. R. AND ITS TOWNS. 215 

its princely residences and churches — with its four handsome daily papers — 
with its large machine shops and manufacturing establi^-hments — T earenworth 
is entitled to be called the metropolis of Kansss. Photographic views, else- 
where presented, are suflBcient evidence of tUe character_^of the buildings. 

The large-^t and most ornate church edifice west of St Louis is the Catholic 
Cathedral of this city. As illustrative of the churches, a view is presented o^ 
the Baptist Church. 

Leavenworth also has the honor of furniphing a United States Senator in 
the person of Hon. Alex. Caldwell, who was recently elected to serve a term of 
six years from the 4th of March, 1871. 

Two miles above the heart of the city is Fort Leavenworth, from which the 
city derived its name and from which the inhabitants of the city have derived 
great gain by furnishing army supplies. This is not a fortified post, but a little 
city of handsome residences for officers, and commodious quarters for soldiers, 
with arsenals and depots for quartermaster's and commissary stores. It is 
the headquarters for the Department of the Missouri, and the base of supplies 
for all the vast region extending into and beyond the Rocky Mountains. It 
was located here because of the excellence of the site and of the river landing 

Since the advent of railroads, the Missouri has lost much of its Importance, 
but it served a g)cd purpose to the cities upon its banks, and it is, in summer, 
a competitor in freights which reduces them to a much lower rate. The Mis- 
souri is navigable by large steamboats a distance of twenty-five hundred mileg 
above Leavenwo. th, to Fort Benton, and four hundred and fifty miles in the 
other direction to its confluence with the Mississippi. 

The elegant, substantial and expensive bridge which is soon to span the 
Missouri river at this point, is illustrated and described elsewhere. Lack of 
space prevents an extended description of the railroads coEcentrating at 
Leavenworth, and the leader is referred to the acompauying map for details 
upon this point, not only concerning Leavenworth, but all other towns and 
cities of Kansas. 

Tiie Misbouri Pacific enters the city on the river bank, connecting northward 
with the Certral Pacifi-- at Atchison, with the St. Joe and Denver at Troy, and 
with the Union Pacific at Omaha. The North Missouri has its (^epot on the 
opposite shore of the Missouri where, at the east end of the bridge, concen- 
trate also the Hannibal and St. Joe, and the Cnicagu, Rock Island and South- 
western. Other railroads west and south are projected and will scon be built. 

Leaving this city by the K. P. R.. we cross a country presenting the usual 
charming variety of Kansas landscape It has but lately passed from the 
ownership of the ludians, but already smiles with the fruits of labor, and sup- 
ports promising vi'lages along the railroad. This country, extending to the 
Kansas river, was the home of the famous Delaware tribe of Indians, who 
figured so conspicuously among the " Six Nations " of early American history^ 
and who furnished from their Kansas home the guides and hunters who arcom. 
panied John C. Fremont in his " pa: h finding" excursions across the Rocky 
Mountains. The stations between Leavenworth and Lawrence are : Peniten- 
tiary, Fairmount, Big Stranger, Moore's Summit, Tonganoxie and Reno. 



216 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

Lawrence, thirty thee rail^s distant from Leavenworth, is s'tuated upon 
the south bank of the Kansas River. Here is presented a good i lustration of 
the fornntion of second bottom, with b'uff and on stretching rolling prairie 
in the back f,round, wlii'e on the north side of the rivrr is to be found the 
bottom proper. A village of more than a thou^'and inhabitants — a city indeed 
— has in the latter location clutered around tne railroad buildings, and is 
known as North Lawrence Hero it is that the K. P. Company are constracting 
their machise shops. 

But Lawrence which was demolished and sack d — the Lawrence of which 
the world has heard, and which was named " the historic cit ," iu a baptism 
of blood and fire— this city is on the south bank oi the Kansas River. It 
covers two or three square miles of undulating and well drained second 
bottom, while an outs'^irt of elegant* residences has crept up th^ blulTs and 
crown their hights. Th-^ ma'n street, " ^assach setts," a name significant, as 
is " Tawrence " it>:elf of the Yankee origin of its founder^, is a mile long, and 
is built up with solid blocks of brick and frione business houses, two-thirds of 
that dista 'C». 

When Qumtrell's rebd hordes burned the town in 1863, th°re were but 
three or four business houses left standing wpou Massichu-e' t-* street. But 
while the smoke was yet ascending from the ruius, and the earth was still 
fresh upon f'e g aves of seventy unarmed victims of tJie ra d, the city council 
of this plucky tovvo, by ordina-ice decreed that no wooiea building-^ should be 
builf/up n Massachusetts street. In consequence of this cnurageoun edict 
hardly any other western street is so pleas'ng in the uniformity of its build- 
ings. The population of LawreLce is about 10,000. It is the county s'^at of 
Douglas county. There are Srvt-ral el gant churches in Lawrence, two of 
which are herein shown. Thecrowuing tjlory of the city is the State Daiversity, 
elsewhere illustratf-d and described. It stands upon the bluff in the south- 
western p)rtion of the city, called Miiunt Oread. L-wrence is supplied with 
gas, its man s reel is being paved with the Wyckofif wooden pavement, and 
a company is organized and will soon construct two and one-half miles o 
street railway through the principal streets. 

Th < people of Lawrence pride themselves upon their patronage of schools, 
churches, lectures and libraries. Two large daily and weekly papers are pub- 
lished here 

The Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston Railroad continues from this city 
southward, aud the Pleasant Hill road will soon make direct con-e^t'on with 
the Missouri Pacific, while other roads, endowed with land ani heal fran- 
chises are projected. Lawrence was the home of the famou-* General James 
H. Ljvne, United Sti,te8 Senator, now deceased. Here also reside lion. E. G. 
Ro«8, late United States Senator, aud Hon. Sidney Clarke, iate member of 
CoHgress. 

Continninr our journey westwird over the K. P. R., we soon emerge from 
the timbered bottoms a d enter upm open lands, with large, "ell cult vated 
forms and modest but thriving towns at the railway statioiiS, which are 



THE K. P. AND ITS TOWNS. 217 

Buck Creek, William sviUe, Perryville, Medina, Xeioman and Grantville. Some 
of these stations deserve special mention, did space permit, being situated in a 
rich farming country. 

Nearly opposite to this state, on the south side of the Kansas river, in Douglas 
county, is the village of Big Springs, situated on the old road which, bef re the 
days of Pacific railroads, lead to California. It has four churches, hotel, stores, 
etc. It is named from thiee large springs on the site. Here was held the first 
Free State territorial convention, and here encamped in the surrounding 
ravines, the men who had determined to make Kansas a free state. 

Nearly opponte to Perry station is the town of Lecompton, which was the 
Territorial capital of Kansa?. It has a population of about 400 people, and 
here is located a thriving instiiutiou oi learning known as Lant University — 
which is under the care of the United Brethren Church. 

TOPEKA. — At a distaiice of twenty-eight miles from Lawrence, and sixty-six 
miles from the Missouri river, we reach Topeka, the capital of the State and 
the county seat of Shawnee county. Its population is about eight thousand. 

This city, like Lawrence, his a sister city north of the river — North Topeka, 
•which, with its bank, whole ale grocery store and other establishments, 
gathers ai'ound the railroad depot considerable business. Crossing the Kan- 
sas over the handsome iron bridge, which is shown in the engraving, we eater 
Topeka proper. 

This bridge deserves a passing notice, because it is at once so cheap, so ele- 
gant and so durable. It has six spans, each one hundred and fi;ty feet long 
and eighteen feet wide in the clear, with a si-J.ewalk on each side. The height 
of the arches is sixteen feet. They are composed of boiler plate and cylinder 
iron, united together, so as to form a tube nine by thirteen inches in size. 
Each arch has two iron chords, upon which rest the joist and floor, and each 
of these chords are six inches deep and three-fourihs of an irch thick. The 
chords and arches are connected by struts and braces, which distribute the 
strain uniformly. The entire structure is of iron, excepting the floor and 
floor joist, and it rests upon cut stone abutments and piers. This bridge was 
brought from the manufactory of Z. King & Co., Cleveland, Ohio, but so great 
is the demand in this country that extensive works for their mauufa:ture have 
been established at lola, Kansas, which are illustrated and described elsewhere. 

It is interesting to note how extensively and for what a variety of pxirposes 
iron is dow used in place of wood, and how admirably its imperishable sub- 
stance is adjusted to these uses. 

We have been so long on this bridge, that the turbid appearance of the 
waters beneath must have attracted our attention, and we are convinced that 
the Kansas is called the " Little Muddy " not less appropriately than the 
Missouri is named the "Big Muddy." 

Topeka covers a wide extent of country. The portion towards the river 
rests upon a series of gentle rolls which run out into level lasd, while at the 
rear the site dopes southward to a creek which is skirted with timber. The 

10 



218 

main street — the broadest avenue to be found in the State — is well defined by 
adjacent business houses and residences all the way from Ihe bridge across a 
bit of level ground, and over a prairie roll down to the creek above mentioned, 
nearly two miles from the river. This creek rejoices in the name of Shunga- 
nuQga. It must not be inferred that streets are usually narrow in Kansas, 
but " Kansas Avenue " is one hundred and twenty feet wide, which makes it 
one of the broadest in the State. The buildings of Topeka are largely built of 
brick and stone, and it has many handsome business houses, one of which — 
the Kansas Yalley National Bank — is represented by an excellent illustration. 
The Capitol, Episcopal Female Seaa-'nary and Lincoln School all speak for 
themselves by the illustrations pesented. The Washburn College, a Congre- 
gational institution of promise, is located here. Topeka is supplied with gas. 

The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R^-.ilroid extends southwest from Topeka 
and is about to be completed northeast to Atchison. It is the intention soon 
to build railroads east to Leavenworth, and also lines extending north and 
south fi-om the city. 

Recrussifig the bridge we are again whirled westward over the K. P. R., up 
the bread valley and across what was lately the re erve of the Pottawatomie 
tribe of Indians. Silver Lake, Eossville and St. Mary's are stations on this 
line, and at St. Mary's the Catholic Church, which had a prosperous mission 
here among the Indians, have created two large school edifices. This is a 
thriving station with 600 or 800 inhabitants. 

Wamego, the central station of the Kaw Yalley division of the K. P. R., is 
one hundred and three miles from the Missouri Eiver, and contains a popula- 
tion of about 1033 iDhabitants. As a fresh engine is taken from the round 
house located h-re and the train stops "twenty minutes for dinner," we have 
time to notice that the town is commenced near the river, on a high and dry 
bottom, whence the main street ascends gently northward until it reaches the 
summit of the low bluffs. To speak of the scenery is to describe in advance 
the view that meets the eye at nearly all the towns along the Kansas, or its 
tributaries, or indeed any other stream in the State. Far-reaching bottooQS or 
alluvial meadows, which are one, two, or three miles wide, windiag river and 
stream, abrupt or sloping bluff and rolling prairies, which extend until they 
meet the skies in the distance. These constitute the views which one never 
tires of gazing upon in tbeir endless variety, but of which the reader would 
weary if we attempted to describe them in detail. 

Louisville, the county seat of Pottawatomie county, is located upon Rock 
creek, eight miles north of Wamego. It contains a number of business 
houses, mechanic's shops, and about four hundred inhabit mts, and is on high 
bottom land, between two streams. A good flouring mill is run by a constant 
water power. There is also good unimproved water power on Vermillion 
Creek and on the Big Blue. 

Beyond Wamego is St. George, with its excellent water power, and one hun- 
dred and eighteen miles from the Missouri ia 



THE K. P. AND ITS TOWNS. 219 

Manhattan. This town is situated upon high bottom and sloping bluffs at 
the junction of the Big Blue River with the Kansas. Two of Kii g's iron 
bridges are being thrown across these streams. Upon the former river, about 
three miles distant from the depot, is a splendid water power. Upon the rock 
bottom a stone dam is built, three hundred feet long, and over this pours in an 
unbroken sheet the bright waters of the " Blue." This furnishes a fall of 
twelve feet. A large flouring and saw mill is the only machinery to which 
this great power is at present applied. Near here resides II. C. and G. W. 
Chaffee, sons of Judge N. L. Chaffee, of Ohio, who have a herd of fifty-six 
head of thoroughbred Short Horn cattle. A life-like cut is given of one of 
these animals. Manhattan has a population of about 1500, with the usual 
number of business houses, churches, &c. The State Agricultural College, 
of which mention is made elsewhere, is located upon the commaniing bluff 
■which sweeps along the Blue almost into the town. The Adams House, built 
and owned by Maj. N. A. Adams, which we illustrate, is a building of which 
any young city may be proud, and its large, airy rooms and excellent appoint- 
ments would do credit to an old city. We enter the region of the beautiful 
maguesian limestone at Mmhattan, and this hotel, as well as other buildings, 
including residences and churches, is built of it. This gives the town a neat 
and substantial appearance. Railroads from the north are expected to follow 
down the Big Blue to Manhattan. This is the county seat of Riley caunty. 

We mu t hasten westward, passing Ogde.n and Fort Riley, and reaching 

Junction City, one hundred and thirty-eight miles from the Missouri. It is 
situated near the confluence of the Smoky Hill and Republican Rivers, which 
unite to form th3 Kansas. This city has a population of about 3O0O. 

It is built upon the crown of a low bluff or prairie roll, between the streams 
above mentioned. Its location, relatively to the surrounding country, is such 
as to command an extensive trade, even from the remote front'er. The Mis- 
souri, Kansas and Texas Railroad comes into ths place, and will soon be 
pushed northwesterly, up some one of the attractive valleys in that region, 
while other roads will be built north and south. There are unimproved water 
powers in the vicinity, among which is reckoned a point on the Republican, 
adjoining the town, at which, by cutting a race way in bottom land, three- 
fourths of a mile long, the entire volume of the stream may be turned into 
the Smoky Hill with a fall of twelve feet. Five miles west of town is an 
excellent unimproved water power, but one miie from the railroad. Six miles 
east is a good flouring mill, run by Clark's Creek, which is fed by springs. 
Three Howe Truss bridges span the stream in the vicinity of Junction City. 
Extensive quarries of magnesian limestone have been opened here, which 
cuts with a cross-cut saw like wood, and large shipments are made of the 
blocks. It is largely used in tuilding in the town. A beautiful little church 
has been erected of this material, of which I am glad to present a view, and 
also the following extract from a letter from Geo. W. Martin, d^ted Junction 
City, January 13, 1871. "We are having the finest job of frescoing done on 



220 

that church to be fonnd in the State." This is very high praise, for there are 
many elegantly frescoed churches, halls, etc., in Kansas. Junction City is the 
county seat of Davis county. The Republican and Kansas Rivers form the 
dividing line between Riley and Davis counties. 

Fort Riley, but three miles distant, ii the source of considerable business to 
this city. The residence and farm of His Excellency, General James M. Har- 
vey, Governor of the State of Kansas, is a few miles north of Fort Riley, near 
Vinton P. 0., in Riley county. 

Leaving Junction City the K. P. R. follows up the broad valley of the 
Smoky Hill River and we pass the stations of C1iapman''s Creek and Detroit, We 
have hitherto been traveling through a country where unimproved land can 
be bought at from five to ten or fifteen dollars per acre, but we are novr enter- 
ing the vast homestead area of Kansas, where homesteads may be obtaiaed 
■within a few miles of the railroad. The Enterprise Flouring Mills, near De- 
troit, are asserted to be the "finest in Central or Western Kansas, drawing 
patronage from a half dozen counties and from a distance of nearly a hundred 
miles." 

Abiline, one hundred and sixty-two miles west of the Missouri is pleasantly 
situated upon a small stream at a distance ot two miles from the Smoky Hill, 
and is the county seat of Dickinson county. Its population is about 800. It is 
a thriving place, having made itself extensively known as the headquarters 
for the eastern shipment of Texas cattle over this road, although the trade is 
d V ded with other towns. The Luildiugs are of a substantial character and 
everything betokens prosperity. In this coun'y Hon. Ezra Cornell, the founder 
of Cornell Uuuiversity at Ithica, N. Y., has established a large stock farm for the 
breeding of fine stock. Ilis importations will be of immense value to that 
region. The '■'Albany Cultivator'''' states that he has brought 25 head of 
thorough-bred Short Horus to Kansas. 

Proceeding westward we pass Solomon City, located upon the high banks of 
the Solomon River. This stream, after watering a broad and fertile valley in 
Northwestern Kansas, two hundred and fifty miles long, empties itself into 
the Smoky Hill, near Solomon City. This town seems to be so sittiated as to 
command considerable trade, and near it are located the salt works already 
alluded to. 

Salina is one hundred and eighty-five miles west of the Missouri and was laid 
4JUt by Col. Wm. A. Phillips. It did not make rapid progress until after the 
construction of the K. P. R. It is surrounded by a fine agricultural country, 
which is quite well settled. There are farmers near here who have averaged 
fifty bushels of corn per acre for the last ten years. The town has its usual 
quota of schools, churches and business houses, and its population is about 
1300. There are shipped from here about 15,000 head of cattle annually. It 
Is the county seat of Saline county, and commands the trade of extensive set- 
tlements to the southwest. In 1866 buffalo were killed within two miles of 



THE K. P. R. AND ITS TOWNS. 221 

Salina. They do not uow come nearer than 75 miles to the west. There is a 
very good unimproved water power on the Saline river near Salina. The U. S. 
Land Office is located here. 

Proceeding westward past Bavaria and its flourishing colony, we reach 
Brookville, at a distance of two hundred miles west of the Missouri. Here 
the Kaw Valley Division of the K. P. R. terminates and the Smoky Hill Divis- 
ion commences. The company are erecting expensive railroad buildings. For 
this purpose an excellent quarry of red sandstone has been opened beside the 
railroad track near here. We are now fairly within the region of buffalo 
grass, where all the uplands are covered with this nutritious herbage, although 
the wide bottoms to the extreme western part of the State produce tall grassea. 
As showing the demand for accommodations for shipping stoc'r^^, it may be 
mentioned that the railroad company have stock yards at Brookville, at which 
seven cars can be loaded at once. 

The stations of Spring Rock, Elm Creek, Summit Siding and Fort Barker are 
passed to bring us to 

Ellsworth. This town is situated upon the Smoky Hill. We left this stream 
at Salina, and crossed the prairies a distance of thirty-seven miles, instead of 
following its wide southern detour. The town is surrounded by a fine farming 
country, and well adapted to sto k raising. It is the county seat of Ellsworth 
county. It is of this regon that Rev. J. Sternberg speaks in his excellent 
letter from Fort Harker, near which small military poit his farm is situated. 

The country intervening between here. Fort Bays, Bays City and Ellis, is 
little settled as yet, as the railroad has not been long completed. The latter 
place is three hundred miles from the Missouri River and is a division stationO 
upon the railroad. Wide bottoms and fine farming lands are to be found here. 

This country cannot long remain unoccupied when there are so many peop'^ 
in the world without lands, which here are ready for occupation. We are now 
on the great Isuff'alo range of the North American continent, where as many of 
this monstrous game as one desires may be killed at pleasure. 

The State extends about one hundred and twenty miles west of Ellis. The 
western boundary line has not been established by survey, but it is on the one 
hundred and second degree of longitude west from Greenwich. The supply of 
timber gradually diminishes west from Junction City, and beyond Salina it is 
only found on this route in narrow belts and isolated grooves. The line of the 
K. P. R., I y some mystery of engineering, was located upon the divide, or 
watershed, between the Smoky Hill and Saline Rivers, the entiie distance of 
two hundred mile? west from Ellsworth to the State line. The traveler sees 
for a good pirt of that distance a high rolling surface, pleasant to look upon, 
because of its gentle undulations, but comparatively desti ute of running 
water and timber. But out of sight, at a distance of a few miles on each side, 
may be found an abundance of running water, sheltering bluffs for stock, and 
a small supply of timber. 



222 

The following description of this country written in April last, is extracted 
from the oflBcial report of a committee of the Chicago Colony, sent to Kansas 
to select a locatien : 

'The climate here is very mild, vegetation being already several inches high. 
We experienced no inconvenience from lying on the ground for several nights, 
with nothing hut a buffalo skin for a bed. We should call this the paradise of 
cattle and consumptives. Here swarmed countless thousands, the buffalo, elk, 
the antelope and deer. 

"So far as the committee could discover, all the requisite conditions are here 
fnlfilled. 1st. A climate of surpassing salubrity. 2d. Cheap lands, with a rich 
soil. 3d. Water and timber. 4th. An unsettled country, inviting to immediate 
county organization, where under our own auspices, all the initial work of 
education and civil and religious institutions could be commenced." 

This report elsewhere spesiks of coal in abundance, and explains the matter 
of timber by showing that it is found in limited quantities only. There is 
much more timber in Western Kansas than has been supposed until lately, but 
the amount is very small compared with Eastern Kansas. "The truth, the 
whole truth, and nothing but the truth," is what emigrants want, and what 
this book is intended to furnish, so far as space will permit. 

The K.P. R. continues westward from the State line to the Rocky Moun- 
tains, or rather to Denver, which is twelve miles east of the mountains and six 
hundred and twenty-eight miles west of the Missouri River, From Denver the 
same company operate the Denver & Cheyenne R. R. to Cheyenne, one hundred 
miles north of Denver, on the Union Pacific R. R. The K. P. R. is also building 
branch roads into the mountains of Colorado, and will soon construct a line 
throrgh the mountains towards Salt Lake City. 

The Land Commissioner for the Kansas Pacific Railway is lion. J. P.Devereux 
Lawrence, Kansas. The lands of this road are also sold by the National Land 
Company, who have ©ffices along the line, and ab-o in New York and Chicago 
with headquarters at Topeka. 

THE C. B. U. P. R. R. AND ITS TOWNS. 

Atchison is the eastern terminus of the Central Branch Union Pacific Rail- 
road, and is situated at the extreme western elbow, made by the Missouri 
Eiver in its windings along the eastern border of Kansas. It has a popula- 
tion of about 8000, and is lighted with gas. It is the county seat of Atchison 
county. 

In tbe configuration of its surface the site presents every variety desirable 
in a towTa, whether of level low land, sloping rolls or towering bluffs, so that 
one may live on hill or in dell, as suits one's fancy. It is of course well 
drained, and a streamlet here enters the Missouii, after coursing through the 
town. This city is a place of extensive business and is headquarters for the 
railroad of which we are speaking. The Missouri Pacific terminates here, and 



THE C. B. V. P. R. R. AND ITS TOWNS. 223 

the Atchison and Nebraska railroad continues northward, cro sing the St. 
Joe and Denver Railroad at Troy, and is rapidly pushing north to connect with 
the Nebraska system of railroads. The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Eailroad 
has its northeastern terminus here, although not yet completed between this 
place and Topeka. Upon the opposite bank of the river is the North Missouri 
Railroad, connecting with the St. Joseph lines. Loaded cars cross the river 
on a steam ferry. 

In its banks, business houses, churches, schools and residences, Atchison can 
vie with many cities in the east, which are fifty or a hundred years old. The 
people of Atchifon point with commendable pride to theii Central School 
building, which cost about $45,000. It stands upon a site where a similar 
structure was burned but about a year before this was erected. It contains 
ten school rooms, each 28x33 feet, with commodious wardrobes, and has an 
audience room 33x60 feet, with rooms for appara'us, etc. The first thing done 
in our live Kansas towns is to build a church and a fine school house. The C. 
B. U. P. extends one hundred miles west to Waterville, and on this line there 
are nineteen stations and towns. Many of them are but just starte.', as the 
road was recently completed, but there are about seventy or eighty stores on 
tha line, dealing in groceries, notions, produce and dry good,". 

The first station is Farmington, twelve miles west of Atchison, located in a 
fertile and populous farming region. This description applies to all the land 
along this road in fact, excepting as you proceed westward, the country is 
newer and more sparsely populated. Monrovia, upon the Stranger Creek, and 
Effingham, which is the R. R. btation for Grasshopper Falls, being past we 
oome to 

Muscotah, which is one of the largest and prettiest towns on the road. It is 
located upon the banks of Grashopper river which here furnishes a fiao water 
power. It is the home of U. S. Senator Pomeroy, who has here an excellent 
and well improved farm. Mjaor W. F. Downs, General Superintendent and 
Land Commissioner of the road, who resides at Atchison, also has a Garefully 
selected farm at this place, and thpse ger^tlemdu, by the introdnttion of stock 
of the best breeds and pure blood, and by the most improved systf m of culti- 
vation, are making moael farms. The town is within the borders of the late 
Kickapoo Reservation. Passing Whiting we arrive at Xetawaka, thirty-six 
miles west of Atchison. It is a rapidly growing town, situated in a prosperous 
communitv. From here a daily line of stages run in connection with the 
trains to Holton, nine and a half miles distant, the county seat of Jackson 
county. The latter is a place of promise, situated on one of the chief tribu- 
taries of the Grasshopper. It has excellent prospects for a railroad from the 
north to follow down the latter stream. 

Beyond Netawaka are Wetmore, Sherman, Corning and Centralia, the latter 
sixty-two miles from the Missouri. It is one of the largest and most prosper- 
ous towns on the road. Beyond are Vermillion and Frankfort, the latter 
having a fine water power on the Vermillion, close by. 



224 HUTCHIf^SON'S KANSAS. 

Barretts, three raises bej^ond, also has water power, and at Elizabeth are 
liDe magnesiar) limestone quarries. The rock with which the abutments of 
the Leavenworth bridge are built, were wrought from this quarry. Irving 
next beyond, ninety miles from Atchison, is located near the Big Blue River, 
and is the seat of " Wetmore Institute" of learning, which is 'under the 
charge of the Presbyterian Church. Irving is a thriving town, b<^inf sur- 
rounded by good farming country. Five miles beyond is Blue Rapids, located 
at one of the best water powers in the State. It is being extensively im- 
proved by an enterprising colonv, at a heavy expense. The orgnizntion was 
known as the Genesee'colony from Western New York, and they publish that 
they chose the site because of " facility of transportation, railroad station, 
fuel, excellent building stote sand in the river, good land, picturesque scenery, 
and unfailing water power for the machinery often or twi nty mills." They 
as~ert that "temperance, morality, education and religion are the bases and 
bulwarks of good society and permenent prosperity. The town was laid out 
February, 1870, aud has been greatly prospered. 

The claims of this col ny, as to advantages of loration, and the platform of 
membership, are published, not because of their novelty, but to illustrate why 
it is that settlers, singly and in colonies, are attracted to Kansas in greater 
numbers than to any other State, and also why it is that Kansas society is 
confessedly so excellent. If we except the water pov.-er — for I do not claim 
that all the towns in Kansas have available water power — I am confident 
that a considerable proportion of the towns in this State were star ed upon the 
same basis as that of Blue Rapids. 

West of the latter place, and one hundred miles from Atchison, is the 
promising young town of 

Waterville. It is, at this writing, (January, 1871,) but about two years old. 
Lots which six months ago sold for twenty to seventy-five dollars each, are 
now selling at one hundred to three hundred dollars each. This rise in real 
estate is a fair average o"" the percentage of rise in Kansas towns at their most 
prosperous stage. Being the westernmost railroad town in tV.e vicinity, Wat«r- 
ville commands the trade of an ext nsive frontier, and has about tweuty-fivo 
or (hirty stores, with banks, fine hotels, churches, etc. Its depot is one hun- 
dred and ten feet long. It is expected that one or two more railroads will 
center here. 

Stages run to Mirysville, Washington, Clyde and Concordia. The town has a 
fine water ! ower, extensive quirries of white magnesian limeston^, and large 
fields of gypsum are f >und in the vicinity. 

It is proposed soon to resume work upon the C. B. U. P. R. R., pushing it 
westward in the neighborhood of the li e as shown on our map. The country 
through which tlie road will be built, is among the ni'^st des rable in the State, 
being supplied with everything that is needed to support a dense population. 



THE ST. J. & D. R. R. AND ITS TOWNS. 225 

THE ST. J. & D. R. R. AND ITS TOWNS. 

The Saint Joseph & Denver City Railroad commences on the west bank of 
the Missouri River, at Elwood in Kansas, opposite to the city of St. Joseph, 
Missouri. From the little village of Elwood the read runs across the Missouri 
Biver bottom, a distance of about six miles to 

Wathena — This city, of about 1,500 inhabitants, is the largest town in 
Doniphan county. It is situated just within the valley of Peter's Creek, 
where the latter opens from the bluff on either side into the Missouri River 
bottom. The stream furnishes a good water power, which U improved by a 
flouring mill and woolen factory, while another mill is run by steam. The 
public school building is claimed to be one of tlie finest in the State. A 
railroad is projected down the Missouri bott m to Doniphan, in the southeast 
portion of the county, there to intersect the Atchison & Nebraska RaUroad. 

From Wathena our railroad follows up Peter's Creek to Trot, the county 
seat of Doniphan county. This place is situated on high ro ling prairie, where 
the stream we have been following heads in numerous springs in and around 
the town. This place also boa-sts of its fine public school. The population is 
about 1,000. 

About a mile southwest of Troy the road we are following is crossed by the 
Atchison & Nebraska R. R. Continuing westward «f e pass Norivay and Sever- 
ance, new and growing railroad stations, with a considerabld grain trade. 

Entering Brown county we pass the new town of St. Francis and reach 
Hiawatha, the county sea<^. The town is pleasantly situated on high rolling 
prairie in the midst of a good country. I^ has the usual complement of 
churches and schools, and an enterprising population. At Padona, a few miles 
northwest a good mill is build ng to be run by water. Other mills run by 
steam are convenient for the people. Coal is extensively used for domestic 
purposes in this county, as well as in all the counties along this line, although 
timber is alsundant. 

Passing Hamlin station, we reach Sabeiha, which is situated just in the edge 
of Nemaha county. A short distance to the north is Albany, and southward is 
Capiona, which are the post office centres for a thrifty farming population. 
It is proposed to run a railroad through this vicinity to connect the Ne- 
braska and Kansas railroads. Passing another station, the name of which 
is unknown to me, we reach the thriving town of 

Seneca, the county seat of Nern-iha county. It has a population of about 
XOOO, and is situated on gently sloping table land on the west bank of the 
Nemaha river, which runs northwarf^ into Nebraska. Seneca contains a fine 
stoTie school house, churches, etc., and is growing rapidly. Nine miles to the 
south is Centralia, on the C. B. U. P. R. R., and a daily s^age connects the 
two places. A railroad will soon be built from the C. B. U. P R. R., from some 
convenient point southeast of Seneca to this place. It will be about fourteen 
miles long, and will make th^ distance from ?eneca to Atchison sixty-four 
miles, while it is seventy- seven miles to St. Joseph. 



226 

The road over which we are parsing was opened to travel since January 1, 
1871, and stations are not establiihed at all needful points, as yet. The next 
town, and the present terminus of the road, ia 

Martsville, the county seat of Marshall county. It is situated on the east 
bank of the Big Blue River, on high sloping bottom, and the adjacent bluffs. 
It has a population of 800 or 1000 people, and is rapidly growing. The river 
affords an excellent water power. Upon its rocky bed a dam is built of stone, 
whence the water is conveyed several rods through a tunnel in the solid rock, 
to the mill below. A good bridge spans the river. The counties through 
•which this road, as well as the C. B. U. P. railroad pa'ses, are among the most 
desirable in the State for farming purposes. A large amount of wheat is 
raised in these counties, and probably more spring wheat than in any other 
portion of Eastern Kansas, although winter wheat succeeds admirably here. 
These counties are quite well settled, as will be seen from the census returns. 
Timber is abundant, and the climate is healthy, but of course a little more 
hay is required to carry stock through the winter, than in Southern Kansas. 

This Railroad is to be built northwest, striking the Little Blue, and follow- 
ing up that stream into Nebraska and to Fort Kearney, where it connects with 
the Union Pacific Railroad. 

THE A. & N. R. R. AND ITS TOWNS. 

The Atchison & Nebraska Railroad commences at Atchison, as its name 
indicates, although there is talk of connecting it with the Leavenworth, Law- 
rence & Galveston road, at Lawrence, both being chiefly under one ownership. 

From Atchison this road runs on the Missouri River bottom lands to Doni- 
phan, a town of several huudred people, with a large grain trade, whence it 
climbs a considerable grade, following Rock Creek and passing Brenner 
Station, crossing the St. Joseph & Denver road near Troy. Beyond is 
down grade to the stations of Fanning and Highland Station. The 
latter is connected by stage from the trains with Highland, a village of 300 or 
400 enterprising people, situated on high rolling prairie, in a densly settled 
farming community. The place is the seat of 11 ghland University, an excel- 
lent school for both sexes. A shaft is being sunk at this place for coal, which 
crops out in several places in the county. Iowa Point, a small village on the 
Missouri River, is the next station. 

White Cloud is the last station on this road in the State of Kansas, and is 
the northeastern town of the State. It is well situated for business on the 
Missouri River, and has an extensive trade with that part of Kansas, as well 
as the adjacent portions of Nebraska and Missouri. The population is about 
1,200. On the opp site or eastern side of the Missouri River runs another 
railroad, from which a branch or spur is building, or about to be built, to 
White Cloud. The town has good churches, &c., and is surrounde 1 by a rich 
country and an abundance of timber. It has several saw mills in the vicinity, 
and manufactures more lumber than any oth r town in the State, 



THE MISSOURI RIVER RAILROAD. 



227 



This road is now building into Nebraska, to Brownsville, and on up the 
Missouri River. 

I am informei that the elevations furnished me on this road and inserted 
upon my map, were incorrect, and that the figures should be as follows, show- 
ing the elevations of depots in feet above the ocean level: Atchison, 800; 




BANCROFT BLOCK, EMPORIA. 

Doniphan, 835; Brenner, 947 ; Troy Junction, 1,121; Fanning, S88 : Highland 
Station, 871 ; Iowa Point, 852; White Cloud, 864. 



THE MISSOURI RIVER RAILROAD. 

This railroad commences at the State line, near Kanras City, and passing 
through Wyandotte, follows the Missouri River, with unimportant stations, 
which ai-e s'^own on the accompanying map, to Leavenworth, thence up the 
river to Atchison. The road is chiefly owned in Leavenworth, but is leased to 
and ruu by, the Missouri Pacific Railroad. 



228 Hutchinson's Kansas. 



M. K. & T. R. R. AND ITS TOWNS. 

Commencingat Jurction City, the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad, waa 
constructed ac.oss the divide between the waters of the Kansas and the Neosho 
rivers ann down the valley of the latter into the Indian Territory. It was for- 
merly known as the Neosho Valley Railroad, and still later as the Southern 
Branch Union Pacific. Leaving ihe depot at Ju ction City, which is common 
to this road and the K. P. R., we follow up the considerable grade which leads 
us across Clark's creek to Skiddg, and across the divide to Parker, on the upper 
waters of the Neosho River. Extensive settlements have recently been made 
in this region by colonies from various localities, and especially from Ch'cago, 
Illinois, asd another from Cincinnati, Oho. At Parkersville, which is a new 
place, preparations are making for a speedy enlargement of the business 
facilities. This place is 1,339 feet above the ocd-an, its elevation being but a trifle 
less than that of Brookville on the Kansas Pacific, seventy miles west. 

Council Grovb is situated on the Neosho, and was a well kn-^wn trading post 
upon the old San'a Fe wagon road. It is the county seat of Morris county, 
and contains a popul ition of about 1000. It is situated just outside of the 
boundary of the Kansas or Kaw Indian Reserve, which is about to be opened 
to settlement. Coal mines of fair quality are opened in this county, and in 
Lyon county adjoining. This enterprising place is expecting another E istern 
railroad to be soon construe ed. 

Going down the widening valley of the Neosho, we pass the growing station of 

Americus, whic is situated in a very desirable farming region and is the 
promising business centre for a thriving country. Here as in Kansas style, is a 
good stone S3hool house, and a cheese factory i^ located here, which uses the 
milk of about 350 cows. The village has 300 or 400 inhabitants. A valuable 
unimproved water power on the Neosho river is near Americus. 

Emporia is distant 60 miles from Junction City and 61 miles from Topeka, 
with which it is connected by the Atchison and Topeka and Sawta Fe R. R. It 
is located on an undulating prairie between and near the Neosho and Cotton- 
wood, and a few miles from the junction ot these streams. It is the county seat 
of Lyon county, and contains a population of about 3,000 people. The valleys 
about Emporia are famous for their well tilled farms, and the town commands 
a very extensive trade, owing to its advantageous position relative to the vast 
and rapidly growing region laying south and west. The citizens also lock with 
confidence for thesped; cons ruct'on of another railroad from the direction 
of Ottawa. Many fine business houses, private reridenres with churches and 
school houses ot like character adorn the streets of this city. It has also aided 
greatly 'o its otherwise fair fame by rigorously prohibiting the sale of intoxica- 
ting liquors. The State Normal School is located at Emporia and is in a very 
prosperous condition, owing partly without doubt, to the inte est manifested 
by the citizens in regard to its welfare. Both the Neosho and the Cottonwood 
furnish water power with fine mills, and there ard other unimproved water 
powera in the vicinity. 



230 

Eight miles below Emporia is Neosho Rapids, it being the station for a town 
a mile or two distant on the north side of the Neosho, below its junction with 
the Cottonwood. Here is an excellent water power, awaidng improvement. It 
is not improbable that the new railroad fiom the northeast will enter the valley 
at this point. 

Hartford, next below, has the commencement of a school under the M. E. 
Church, which will doubtltss grow to meet the requirements ot this populous 
region. 

The station of Strawyi, a newly established town of some promise next is 
met in our trip down the " far famed Neo&ho valli-y," bringing us to 

BuRLiXGTON, situated in the centre of Coffey county, of which it is the county 
seat, and has a population of about 1,400. The town is located immediately 
on the south bank of the Neosho River, down which we have now followed 
until we find it to be a large stream. A dam has been thrown across it at this 
point, and a valuable water power secured, by whioh a woolen factory and two 
flouring mills are operated. The dam, ju.t above the town, is 300 feet long, 
and by a canal one-half mile long, an excellent power is obtained in the town, 
with sixteen feet head. A small run, fed by springs, winds its way through 
the town, giving variety to the rolling town site. Burl'ugtonians expect to be 
blesso 1 with two more railroads at no remote day, one from Ottawa and 
another from the north. 

Continuing on the south side of the river for miles, we reach Le Roy station, 
which is two or three miles away froai Le Roy, the town it represents. The 
latter is immediately upon the north bank of the Neosho, in the heart of a pros- 
perous community of farmers, and it contains some hundreds of inhabitants. A 
steam flour mill is in town, and a flour mill run by water near by, while two 
other excellent mill sites are awaiting development. 

I have not hitherto spok.n of saw mills, for it is to be understood that 
they are abundant in all parts of Kansas. 

Neosho Falls is the next town which attracts our attention upon this route. 
Among the many claims it presents to immigrants is its pleasint site on the 
south bank of the Neosho. The volume of this river has been so much in 
creased by the numerous tributaries that enter it upon both sides, that it is 
no longer the modest creek we found soon after leaving Junction City. It has 
swollen to a river of importance, and upon its smooth and solid rock bottom 
a dam is constructed at Neosho Falls, which extends across the river. It is 200 
feet long, and gives eight feet head of water. The po\\er is est mated by engi- 
neers as sufficient to drive machinery to tha extent of twelve hundred horse 
power the greater part of the season. At present it is only improved by a saw 
and grist mill, of large capacity, but power will be furnished to those desiring 
it for other purposes. About eight hundred feet above the dam stands one of 
King's wrought iron br dges, 200 feet span, crossing at Main street. Its two 
approaches, of forty feet each, as well as the bridge proper, stand upon stone 
abutments and piers. An excellent view of the water power and bridge 
beyond, from a photograph, is presented elsewhere. 



THE M. K. & T. R. R. AND ITS TOWNS 231 

The depot of the M., K. & T. R. R.'is located conveoiently to the business 
part of town. Neosho Falls is the division beadquarters for the road, with 
round houses, etc., and the office of the Land Commissioner, Professor I. T. 
Goodnow, is located here. The population of the town is 800 or 1,000. It 
doubled in six months alter the railroad offices removed heie. The buildings 
are of such a character as is to be expected in an enterprising Kansas town. 
Concerning additional railroads, the city has its great expectations. It is 
looking for a raih'oad from the northeast, and another from the east; but the 
road which is expected first is one extending dire^-tly to Fort Scott, saving 
fifty miles, or half the distance now traveled. Neooho Falls is the county seat 
of Woo Ison county. In the southwest corner of this county is a valuable 
water powei-, ou the Verdigris, which should be improved by a mill, for the 
benefit of the rich and rapidly improving surrounding country. It is situated 
at Toronto. Coil is developed, and used for domestic purposes and black- 
smithing. 

Continuing our route southeast 15 miles, we reach Humboldt. The Land 
Office for Humboldt Land District is located here, adding greatly to the busi- 
ness of the place. We h .ve reached that portion of the Neosho which runs 
nearly south, and the depot for Humboldt, on the M. K. & T. R. R., is on the 
west side of the i-iver, while most of the town is on the east side. The Leaven- 
worth, Lawrence & Galveston Railroad also eaters the town on the east side. 
The latter road keeps upon that side of the river for some distance, and the 
two roads cross each other ten miles below Humboldt. The attractive town 
site is near the junction of two creeks, with the Neosho river, giving to the 
suppert of the town extended and fertile valleys. Coal is found in abundance 
in this couaty. This town was laid out in 1861, but being twice pllaged and 
burned by rebels during tie war, male little progress for several years. But 
of late its growth has been vigorous and healthy. Its inhabitaats number 
about 2000. There are a number oi good buildings here, churches, schools, 
etc. One of King's Wrought Iron Bridges connects east and west Bridge 
street, a beautiful avenue a mile in length. In addition to the two roads men- 
tioned, another east and weit road connecting eastward at Fort Scott, it is 
confidently believed will be constructed very soon. A view is given of the 
bridge and two business blocks in Humboldt. Following our M. K. & T. R. R. 
down the east bank of the Neosho, we reach 

Tioga and New Chicago, two towns recently located side by side, at the 
crossing of this road and the L. L. & G. R. R. i'hese towns, situated on the 
lowland and bluffs of the Neosho, are growing so rapidly that they must soon 
^nd it for their interest to adopt a common purpose and a common name. Our 
friends in the remote east have little idea of the amount of business transacted 
in one of our towns. In good weather, the principal street of all our towns 
is crowded with teams, and the sidewalks thronged with a busy, and oftimes a 
motley throng. A friend informed me, for instance, that he recently counted 
two hundred farm wagons in one day in the streets of New Chicago and Tioga, 
which were drawn thither by ordinary business demands. 



232 Hutchinson's Kansas. 

Near here lives W. S. Irwin, who represented in the State Legislature last 
•winter a more numerous constituency than any other member cf the House of 
Representatives. He has been five years in Kansas in the nursery business. 
He has fruited the Concord, lona, Israella No. 1, Delaware, Ives Seedling, 
Rogers' Hybrids No's. 4, 9 and 15, and the Rebecca, all of which he commends 
for his region. He discards the Catawba and Isabella on account of mildew. 
He mentions particulaily, what all have observed who have taten grapes la 
Kansas, that the Concord and other common varieties are far superior in 
flavor to the same varieties grown in Eastern States. The first house was built 
in New Chicago June 27, 1870. Now, in less than one year, it numbers many 
hundred. The combined p pulation of these two places probably reaches 
about 2000. 

Southeast of these towns is Erie, on the east side of the Neosho river, a town 
which has been very rapidly built. It i^ on h'gh bottom land, and is said to 
contain more than a thousand inhabitants. 

About eight miles southeast of Erie is Osage Mission, a thriving town on the 
line of the road from Fort Scott to Parsons, called the Sedalia Branch of the 
M. K. & T. R. R. 1 have not visit»d this place, and have not received much 
reliable information about it, but it is said to contain more than 1500 inhabi- 
tants, with all the elements of progress common to Kaesas towns of this size. 
Beyond N«-w Chicago the road leaves the immediate vicinity of the Neosho 
(although still in the broad valley when milei away,) and makes a cut-off by 
crossing into the headwaters of the Labette. After passing for a few miles 
over a rolling prairie of easy grade, as is shown by the elevations on our map, 
it again approaches near to the Neosho. The character of this entire valley 
has hardly been alluded to, but it is unsurpassed for the extent of its well 
tilled bottoms, for the abundance of timber and water power, and for the 
rapidity with which it has been filled with an active thriving population. 

Passing the station of Ladore, we reach Parsons, beautif-illy situated on a 
prairie roll, between the Labette and one of its tributaries. There the eastern 
branch of the M. K. & T. R. R. comes in from Sedalia, Mo., via Fort fcott. By 
this route through trains now run [to St. Louis. At Parsons are to be erected 
oflBces, machine shops, round houses, etc., such as will be commen-urate with 
the importance of a railroad, which, with its various branches, will in time 
embrace little less than 1000 miles of track. 

Labette City is a village of about 4C0 people on the east bank of the Labette 
river, in a well settled country. Seven miles more brings us to 

Oswego, the county seat of Labette county. A recent traveller who has been 
often over the route, describes Oswego as "the same substantial good town ^ 
improviog steadily, surely." It has a population of about 1500. It is located 
a short distance from the Neosho on a blufiF which comes abruptly to the river 
on its west side. Never failing springs abound and an excellent water power 
Is improved with flouring and saw mill. The village of Montana, a ftw miles 
distant, has mills, etc., and about 250 inhabitants. All this region is plentifully 
supplied with coal. Ten miles from Oswego is 



THE L. L. & G. K. R. AND ITS TOWNS. 233 

Chetopa. This thriving young city is situated on the west bank of the 
Neosho river and near the scuth line of tae state. Chetopa is southwest of, 
and distant seventeen miles from Columbus, on the Missouri River, Fort Scott & 
Gulf Railroad, from which point the latter road will probably soon be extended 
to Chetopa. It is also on the line of the projected South Pacifie R. R., which I 
am infoimed is under contract to Baxter Springs, eighteen miles d stant to the 
east. Being so situated as to command an extensive southern trade it is rapidly 
growing. Its four neat and tasteful church edifi^'es entirely completed, bespeak 
the character of the inhabitfints, not less than the school houses, stores, hotels, 
etc. Near here are the valuable coal mines, from which in January, 1S70, when 
but recently opened, ten car loads per day Wcre shipped north. Adjacent are 
the heavily timbered bottoms of the Neosho, affording the finest quality of 
oak and walnut, while forty miles south are the extensive pineries of Grand 
River. Planing mills at Chetopa use lumber shipped from the latter region, while 
flouring mills, foundry, etc., make up the complement of improvements. The 
trade in Texas cattle is very considerable at Chetopa as well as at all the towns 
along the southern line of the state. From Chetopa we look south upjn the 
Indian Territory, whose solitudes are already awakened by the battie cry of 
modern civ.l zation — the steam whistle. By this sign do we conquer the 
wilderness. 

The Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad is already constructed to Fort 
Gibson which is on the Arkansas River, eighty-seven miles south of the 
Kansas State line, and it is proposed to build nearly as much farther during 
the year 1871, leaving but fifty or sixty milcs to reach the northern boundary 
of Texas. The Indian Territory is 210 miles across — it being of the same width 
as the state of Kansas. It may not be generally known that it is no farther 
from Topeka, the Capital of Kansas, to Galveston, on the Gulf of Mexico, than 
it is to Columbus, the Capital of Ohio. This road will reach Galveston in con- 
junction with the Texas Central, and another line will be pushed southwest to 
Camargo, in Mexico. The Kansas line will also be extended northwest to Fort 
Kearney on the Union Pacific in Nebraska. The General Manager of this road 
is Robert S. Stevens, a Kansas man, whose talent for pushing a railroad i» 
being backed by a company which appreciates the importance of improving 
opportunities. This road is to be of great importance to Ka'asas, not only- in 
giving access by means of branch lines to the pineries of that region, but by 
opening an avenue of trafic, whereby the tropical productions and fish and 
oysters of lower Texas, and the cotton as- well, may be brought here in exchange 
for apples, pears^ butter and che se, hay, bacon, fine blooded stock, etc, 

THE L. L. & G. R. R. AND ITS TOWNS. 

The Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston Railroad, as it name indicates, 
commences at Leavenworth, aud it received its land grants upon that condi- 
tion. But tbe railroad bridge is not completed across the Kansas river at 

*10 



234 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

Lawrence, and trains are therefore made up at the latter place. Passing south 
across the broad bottoms of the Wakarusa and up Coal Creek, we pass near to 
Blue Mound, an isolated hill about one hundred feet above the Wakarusa, and 
Kpon whose summit, in the early Kansas troubles, stood a tall flag-staff. 
Whenever armed forces or suspicious parties were seen by the scouts approach- 
ing from Missouri, the Free State men were warned by running up a flag on 
this stafi', which could be seen in Lawrence and all the surrounding country. 

The first station is Vineland, where there is no village as yet, but where is 
the fruit farm, nursery and vineyard of Mr. W. E. Barnes, who furnished our 
essay on grape cultui'e. From Vineland the road climbs by a sharp grade to 
Baldwin City, which is situated on the high prairie, and on the old Santa Fo 
wagon road, which wound its serpentine course on the divide between the 
waters of the Kansas River on the north and the Marias dea Oygnes on the 
south. Baldwin City is a village of a few hundred inhabitants, and is the seat 
of Baker University. The M, E. Church has here erected a fine edifice, with 
boarding houses, and smaller building for preparatory department, and the 
institution gives promise of great usefulnessi. At this place and at Prairie 
City, the next station near at hand, are good flouring mills. Passing the flag 
Btation of Norwood, we reach the city of 

Ottawa. This place is situated on both sides of the Marias des Cygnes 
(River of Swans) but is chiefly built on the gently sloping and undulating sur- 
face of the portion south of the stream. Across the stream is thrown the 
beautiful wire suspension bridge shown on another page. Having spent two 
years before any other white man lived in this immediate vicinity, in prepar- 
ing to laj' out and build this town, it would be an easy matter to fill a consid- 
erable book with its history; but having promised the publie an impartial 
sketch of Kansas, I will only say that Ottawa has steadily grown from the 
erection of the first house, in April, 1864, to this time, when it numbers about 
3,500 inhabitants. Its two principal streets are paved, and the town contains 
many fine buildings. Some of its buildings, including Ottawa University, are 
shown elsewhere. It is a live town, surrounded by a good country, and is 
etill improving. Its churches, schools, etc., are a credit to any town. The 
site of Ottawa is a beautiful one ; its situatioUj relative to a great region of 
country, is central and commanding, and its people are intelligent, enterpris- 
ing and public spirited. 

A few miles north of Ottawa, near the L., L. & G. rrad, are the Franklin 
county coal mine3, employing about fifty men, and delivering a large amount 
of coal daily. 

Arrangements have been^made for the location at Ottawa of the machine 
Bboj s of the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston Railrou'l, which will give 
employment to a large number of men, as this read is to be contiiiued south 
through the Indian Territory, and so long a'line with its niiiny branches will 
require extensive works. 

The L. L. & G. R. R. has another line coming into this place from Kansas 
C5ity, and the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad^^is also building a branch 



THE L. L. & G. R. R. AND ITS TOWNS. 235 

leaving the Missouri Pacific at Holden and coming through P^ola to this 
place, whence it will proceed westward through Pomona. 

Pomona.— This new but promising village is ten miles west of Ottawa, in the 
valley of the Marais de Cygnes. It is an original conception, being located 
upon the bord vr of a tract of 12,000 acres of excellent land owned by Messrs. J. 
H. Whetstone and S. T. Kelsey, which tract is entirely surrounded by a well 
constructed wire fence. Within the fence more than 100 miles of he<7ge and 
forest tree rows have been plowed and planted, and a large amount of nurs(?ry 
Btock set out by Mr. Kelsey, (whose essay is elsewhere given.) Within five 
years this entire tract will be divided by hedge rows and forest trees into 
small tracts, and settled by a prosperous and independent community. la 
such hands, and with such prospects, I need hardly say that the village is 
prospering. It is not yet a year old, but it has about 50 houses aud a fine 
mill and school house, of which illustrations are given elsewhere. Coal nnder- 
lies the entire site and surrounding country, and is delivered at the town for 
about 15 cents per bushel. 

I have spoken particularly of this enterprise, because it illuetrates what 
may be done in Kansas and how by energy and sagacity a good deal may le 
made out of a little. This entire tract, then unoccupied land, was purchased 
two years ago for $4.50 per acre. There are still opportunities for other such 
enterprises in Kansas. 

In the southeastern part cf this county, is Lane post-office and settlement 
near which stands the Joha Brown cabin elsewhere shown. Here is also a 
steam flour mill. 

To the southwest of Ottawa, about sixteen miles is the Trench settlement 
and Silk Factory of M. de Boissiere, who was expelled from France on political 
grounds by the late Emperor. He is a socialist of great wealtb, who has 
purchased three thousand acres of fine land and has erected a good building, 
and is intending to erect others, where will be attempted a practical solution 
of some of the knotty problems of social science, and industry. Whatever 
maj come of the theories, the seed of the Mulberry tree sown in large quauti- 
ties, have made excellent returns, the trees growing fifteen to thii'ty inches tho 
first year. They are grown to furnish food, by their leaves, for silk worms. 

Nearby is a fine steam flour mill located at Williamsburg. Both these set- 
tlements are underlaid, at a depth of ten to thirty feet, with excellent coal. 

But we loiter too long in this vicinity, and must hapten southward, by the 
stations of Princeton and Richmond to 

Garnett, the county seat of Anderson county. This town of about 1000 
inhabitants is situated on rolling prairie, and is nearly surrounded by timber. 
The first house was built in this town by Capt. John J. Lindsey. Being tL:e 
only town in the county, it has lately grown rapidly, having cliurches, hotels, 
mill?, etc; its prospects are good, especially when a railroad U constructed 
through this place from Paola, as is contemplated. 



236 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

Leaving Ganiett, vre pass the stations of Welda, and Divide, and crossing the 
high divide known as Ozark Kidge, pass Carlyle station, and striking Into 
the Neo-iho YETley, we enter the town of 

lOLA, which is the county seat of Allen county. The town is located on high 
bottom, gently rolling to the river, which runs on the west of the town. The 
most important event wh'chhas lately happened to this place is the location at 
this p-^int of the large manufacturing establishinent of the King Wrought 
Iron Bridge Company. A view of these buildings, and more particular descrip- 
tion of them is given elsewhere. lola has about 1000 inhabitants, and is grow- 
ing rapidly. The river is bridged at this place by one of King's Iron Bridges. 
About two miles above the town is said to be an excellent water power on the 
Neosho River. 

Northwest from lola is Geneva, a village between Elm and Indian creeks. It 
is 6 miles from Ca lyle, and Z]/^ from Neosho Falls, between which places runs 
a daily stage. At Geneva is located a Presbyterian Academy. 

The next station is Humboldt, the road passing on the east side of the town. 
As we described the place in treiting of the M. K. & T, R. R., we hasten on 
across the Neosho, and through the towns of JVeiv Chicago and Tioga, already 
described, and out on to the prairie again to the new town of » 

Thayer, which is the present terminus of the road. This town has grown as 
only Kansas towns can grow, or at least, as only towns in a new and fertile 
country, with low priced Ian s, can grow. I don't dare say how many people 
there are in th's town, for I have not visited it. The first house was erected 
last fall, and there are now hundreds of people there, while, as in all our new 
towns, "the cry is still they come-" The Railroad is in process of con- 
struction to the south line of the state, where a town will be located. The 
direction of this extension is unknown to me, excepting that it is to be 
southwesterly. Tie south line of the State is to be reached in July, 1871, 
a di3tance of 45 miles from Thayer, 

This road has a few hundred thousand acres of valuable land for sale. I 
have cot the name of the newly appointed land commissioner, but letters will 
reach him if sent in the care of M. R. Baldwin, general superintendent, Law- 
rence. Retracing our course to Ottawa, we leave the north and south line and 
go northeast to Olathe, passing the stations oi' Ferguson, Wellsville, Martin, and 
Gardner, all new places, but in a well settled region. This line of road is 
called the Kansas City and Santa Fe Railroad, but it is controlled and run by 
the L. L. & G. R. R. Company, through trains passing over the Missouri River* 
Tort Scott and Gulf Road, from Olathe to Kansas City. 

THE M. R. FT. S. & G. R. R. AND ITS TOWNS. 

The Missouri River, Fort Scott and Gulf Railroad commences at Kansas City, 
Missouri, where it makes direct connection with eastern trains. A bridge 
crosses theMis-ouri river at this point. From the Mis=onri river bottom, on 
which the depot is situated, the road follows the windings of Turkej creek 
until it reachss the summit on open prairie. 



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238 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

Shawnee Station, is near a small to-wn of the same name which contains a 
few hundred inhabitants. All the land in this vicinity is enclosed and divided 
into farms. Near here is the old Shawnee Mission, and this gives me opportu- 
nity to say what I intended to say in its proper place, that Col. Johnson, who 
lives here, thinks the quickest and most satisfactory way to raise fuel on the 
open prairie, is to plant peach stones a few feet apart each way. He planted a 
bushel on three or four acres, and the grove yielded an incredible amount of 
fuel. Peach wood is hard and makes an excellent fire. It grows rapidly, bears 
peaches in three or four years from the pit or stone, and one good crop will 
pay for the trouble. The object of growing a thicket of peaches is not fruit 
however, but fuel, but if peaches will insist on growing who will object to it? 
Hoping the reader will excuse this digression, we continue our route over a 
very fine country with fine farms on every band, past the station of Lenexa to 

Olathb, the county seat of Johnson county. This thriving town of almost 
2500 inhabitants is situated on rolling prairie, between the head waters of Cedar 
and Indian creeks. The Deaf and Dumb Asyium is located here, with a good 
sized three story stone building. An east and west railroad is now being con- 
structed through Olathe, which we will describe in the next division. 

From Olathe out railroad commences a down grade, passing Ocheltree and 
Spring Hill stations iu Johnson county. The latter station is the depot for 
a thrifcy little village of the same name, situated a mile or two west of the 
road. Passing Hillsdale, a few miles over the county line, we follow down a 
considerable stream called Bull Creek, and on its east banks we find 

Paola, the county seat of Miami county. This town was laid out in the 
early settlement of Kansas, its pioneers being attracted by large springs of 
pure water, and also by the excellence of the surrounding country. It coti- 
tains good buildings, mills, hotels, etc. 

The branch railroad from Holden, Missouri, tapping at that place the Mis 
Bouri Pacific, is soon to be completed to Paola. On this read, near the state line 
is Neio St. Louis, a new place of promise, and yet nearer to Paola is Somersett 
•where a mill, stores, etc., are now building. The northeast corner of this 
county has settled very rapidly during the last three years. 

Six or eight miles southwest from Paola is Osaivatomie, situated at the con- 
fluence of the Pottawatomie and Marias den Cygnes Elvers, and between the 
two streams, which are bridged at this point. A good water power on the first 
named stream is being improved by the erection of a dam and mill. The place 
contains, perhaps, 500 people. The State Asylum for the Insane is located 
here, and large buildings are now being erected in addition to the old ones. 
The little village is chiefly noted for the fight which took place in 1856, 
between old Captain John Brown, with a handful of Free State men, and a 
considerable force of Pre-Slavery Border Ruffians. The town was eventually 
sacked, after a gallant resistance, and Brown was from that event called Osa 
watomie Brown. The proposed railroad fi'om Paola to Garnett and Neosho 
Falls, is to run through Osawatomie. 







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240 

In tlie soutbeast part of Miami county is the village and post ofiBce of New 
Lancaster, Near by is one of the oil springs which abouud in the border 
counties of Kansas, and from which oozes a thick black substance which in 
summer dries down to the consistency and appearance of thick tar. 

Following on railroad from Paola, we pass the town of Fontana, which is 
located in a good country, and reach 

La Ctones. This new town was lately made the county seat of Linn 
county. The site wa? surveyed and staked for a town in the fall of 1869, and 
row, in less than two years, it claim? 1200 inhabitants. There is good water 
power here, as well as in vjirious places lower down on the Marias des Cygnes. 
Of course the town is thrifty and ambitious, and it is supported by an excel- 
lent country around it. 

Passing Barnard station, we reach Pleasanion, a town of about 800 inhabi- 
tants, which has also grown very rapidly. It has an improved water power, 
two flouring mills, and does a good business with the surrounding country. A 
vein of coal two to three f^ et thick U opened here. 

Seven mi'es west of Plea^auton, and connected with it by a daily stage, is 
Mound City, situated on the south bank of Little Sugar ci'eek. It is partially 
enclosed by the aro of one of the highest mounds in Kansas, called 
Sugai- Mound, from the Sugar Maple tre s which cover its side and a portion 
of its summit. From this Mound flow the constant waters of several excel- 
lent springs. A surface vein of coal fifteen to thirty inches thick is opened 
here. A railroad is in contemplation to pass through Pleasanton and Mound 
City. Six miles from Mound City is a good flour mill, run by water on Big 
Sugar Creek. 

Continuing a southward course from Pleasanton, we cross Little Osage River 
and reach the station of Osaga. Near by is a good water power, well im- 
proved, and also at Fort Lincoln^ a few miles westward, up the stream. 

FoKT Scott is the next station and the county seat of Bourbon county. It 
contains about 5,000 inha'ntants. It is the chief town in this portion of the 
State, and has no rival within less than about thirty miles in either direction^ 
Besides the road upon which we entered the eastern part of the town, the 
Sedalia branch of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad runs throi'gh the 
southern portion of the city. Besides this road is the La Clede and Fort Scott, 
another road soon to be completed from the east, while still another is pro- 
jected, and likely to be built, southeast, info the timber regions of Arkansas. 
A road will also soon be constructed from here directly west tollumbildt, with 
a line via lola to Neosho Falls. Fort Scott is located on rolling prairie, 
chiefly on the south side of Marmaton River, which flows eastward into Mis- 
souri. A small stream, fed bj' springs, winds through the northern part of the 
city. The place does an eicten-ive business, and las a woolen factory, a 
foundry, mills, etc., and is about to bo supplied with gas. It would seem only 
necessary to tap the gas reservoir beneath the ci(y for the latter purpose, as 
there issues from a drill hole, made in testing for oil, a constant stream of gas, 



THE ST. L. L. & D. R. R. AND ITS TOWNS. 241 

which bnms with a ready blaze. One of the most valuable coal mines in the 
State is opened near the city, and lU shipment is an important item. 

Passing successively the stations of Godfrey, Pawnee and Drywood, we reach 
GiBABD, the county seat of Crawford County. This new town has about 800 
inhabitants, and confidently looks for the construction of an east and west 
railroad. This entire country is underlaid with promising coal veins. 

C%<roA:ec station is a growing place. A large amount of coal is mined here 
from a vein said to be four feet thick. It sells at the banks, loaded on cars, at 
nine cents per bushel. A kind called red coal is in thinner veins, and sells 
higher, for blacksmithing purposes. Monmouth is a village of about 300 inhab- 
itants, six miles west of Cherokee station, pleasantly located near timber. 

Coalfield is another coal mining town, and sfation on the road. 

Columbus is the county seat of Cherokee county. The first house was built 
a little more than a year ago, and the plase now numbers about 1000 
inhabitants. It is situated on gently rolling prairie, and has a prospective 
Railroad from the East. 

The next station, and the terminus of the road is Baxter Springs, a thriving 
business place claiming about 2000 inhabitants. Being upon the border of the 
Indian Territory, it is the last town in this direction, and is a place of exten- 
sive business. It is located on the west bank of Spring River, which fur- 
nishes excellent water power, here and elsewhere. At Lowell, a village three 
miles from Baxter Springs, and connected with it by daily stage, is a very fine 
water power with mills. Spring River has a succession of water powers 
throughout its entire course. A promising grindstone quarry has lately been 
opened in the southeastern portion of this county. The Atlantic and Pacific 
Railroad from St. Louis is about to extend its line westward through Baxter 
Springs. 

A few miles south from here are located my old friends, the Ottawa tribe of 
Indians, formerly the owners of a good share of Franklin county, and from 
whom the town of Ottawa was named. It is reported that upon their new 
reservation an excellent vein of pure lohite marble has been discovered, and 
a company is about to open the quarry and test its value. 

This Railroad will undoubtedly soon be pushed on southward, but I think 
its precise course has not been determined upon. Major B. S. Henning, of 
Kansas City, Mo., is the efiicient General Superintendent of this road. The 
lands are sold by John A. Clarke, Land Commissioner, of Fort Scott. 

THE ST. L. L. & D. R. R. AND ITS TOWNS. 
The St. Louis, Lawrence and Denver Railroad is commonly known as the 
Lawrence and Pleasant Hill Railroad. It commences at the foimer place and 
runs by Eudora, a town of several hundred inhabitants at the junction of 
the Wakarusa and Kansas rivers. Tbence the road continues down the bottom 
lands «f the latter stream to De Soto, whence it strikes into Cedar Creek and 
follows it up to Olathe. Thence it passes eastward to Pleasant Hill, on the Mis- 
souri Pacific Railroad, 20 miles beyond the eastern boundary of Kansas. The 



242 



road is not yet running, but it is under contract to be completed during the 
summer, and it will considerably shorten the distance between Lawrence and 
Olathe, and the city of St, Louis. Gen. G. W. Deitzler of Lawrence, is President* 

THE A. T. & S. F. R. R. A^^D ITS TOWNS. 

The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad commences, by the terms of its 
land grant, at Atchison, but the - or t ion be 'ween this city and Topeka is not 
yet completed. It is however under contract, and is to be constructed within 
a year's time. 

At Atchison, which we have already described, this road connects with the 
roads running in every direction from that city. The Chicago and Southwest- 
ern is also to build a road directly west from Plattsburg, in Missouri, 35 miles 
to Atchison. This will necessitate the construction of a bridge across the 
Missouri river at this point. The A. T. & S. F. R. R. will use the track of the 
C. B. U. P. R. R. for a few miles, as shown on our map, and will strike across 
the divide and s mthwest down a tributary of Grasshopper river, which it will 
cross at, or in the vicinity of, Grashopper Falls. This village of about 800 
inhabitants is pleasantly situated, chiefly on the west bank of the stream. It 
has a very good water power, while but a mile distant is another, and they 
furnish power to run two floui'ing mills, and a woolen factory. The town con- 
tains five or six church buildings, which fact tells its own story about the char- 
acter of the people. Six miles above the village is another wate' power now 
being improved, while three miles down the stream from the village is another 
mill, and at Osawkee, 10 miles below Grashopper Falls, is a flouring^mill run 
by water. All these water powers are on Grasshopper River. In the south 
part of this county on this stream, are the towns of Medina and PerryvilU, on 
the K. P. R. R. The latter has a population of about 500. 

About 14 miles southeast of Grashopper Falls is Oskaloosa, the county seat 
of Jefferson county. It is built on high rolling prairie, at the head of several 
streams, which flow from numerous springs in and around the town. The 
place is nearly surrounded with timber. Firewood sells at three dollars per 
cord. • The population is about 900. No liquor saloons have ever been permit- 
ted in the town. A large court house and public school house built of brick, 
with trimmings of Junction City stone, and an elegant Protestant Episcopal 
Church, also built of brick, adorn this highland village. 

From Grasshopper Falls to Topeka there are as yet no towns, although vil- 
lages will soon spring into existence, after the railroad is completed. 

The A. T. & S. F. connects on the north side of the Kansas River, at North 
Topeka, with the K. P. R. Crossing the Kansas river on the railroad bridge 
built by the former company, we arrive at the depot, machine shops and gen- 
eral offices of the road, located on the eastern border of the city of Topeka. 
This city was fully described in the article relating to the K, P. Railroad, and 
we continue on our way southward. Wakarusa station is located in the fertile 
valley of the river of that name, and is the natural centre for a good country. 
About six miles to the westward is the village of Auburn, pleasantly located 



THE A. T. & S. F. R. R. AND ITS TOWNS. 243 

in the Wakarusa valley. The next station is Carbondah, where extensive coal 
mines are opened, and a large amount of coal delivered. From this point a 
railroad is projected to follow down a creek which heads near by, and upon 
reaching the WakarJisa, its valley will be followed to Lawrence, there de'iver- 
ing coal, and giving the A. T. & S. F. R. E. connection with the railroads which 
run eastward froHO that city. 

The next town is Burlinoame, one of the county seats of Osage county. At 
tin election recently held, a majority of the votes were declared to have been 
cast in favor of Lyndon, but the election was contested, and meantime the 
county oflBces are held partly at one place and partly at the other. The popu- 
lation of Burlingame is about 800. The attractive town site U located on a 
small stream, and a large and elegant public school house stands upon a con- 
spicuous eminence. There is now being erected a woolen factory, in which 
new and excellent machinery will soon be placed. It will be run by steam, as 
the eoal mines near at hand supply cheap fuel. The elegant stone building is 
130 feet long, with Mansard roof. An extensive wagon manufactory is in ope- 
ration here. 

Passing the station of Petertm, located in the rich valley of Dragoon's creek, 
we reach Osage City. Here are also extensive and valuable coal and other 
mineral deposits, which are described under the heads •' Stone Quarries," and 
"Paint." This town has net long been in existence, but it appears to be 
flourishing. 

Following eastward from this village, by stage, down the valley of Salt creek, 
a distance of eight miles, we reach the new and enterprising town of Lyndon, 
already referred to. This town was laid out March 7, 1870, by a company of 
which Hon. L. D. Bailey, late Judge of the Supreme Court, is president. Six 
months afterward, the Judge informed me in as delicate a manner as possible, 
evidently a little fearful Ifst he might hurt my feelings— that his town had 
beaten the first six months growth of Ottawa. Of course (in my view) language 
would fail to express higher encomium upon their success. The town now 
contains about 700 inhabitants. Coal is easily obtained, and the country has 
filled up rapidly with actual settlers. 

East from Lyndon, near the county line, and near the confluence of Salt 
Creek with the Marias des Cygues, is the town of Quenemo, formerly the 
agency of the Sac and Fox Indians. The celebrated warrior, Black Hawk, was 
a chief of this tribe, and a son and namesake of Ke-o-kuk, the equally cele- 
brated friend of the white man, is now a chief of the tribe in the Indian Ter- 
ritory, where they recently removed. Mr. Wm. "Whistler, a remote descendant 
of the tribe, who lives at Quenemo, and last winter represented Osage county, 
in the State Legislature, informed me that the last buffa'o killed east of 
Council Grove met their death in June 1848, when a Sac and Fox hunter killed 
three, near the present town site of Quenemo. 

In returning to the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, we will diverge 
southward from the route by which we came to Quenemo, and pass up the 
broad valley of the Marias des Cygnes, a distance of about twenty miles to th« 




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THE A. T. & S. F. R. R. AND ITS TOWNS. 245 

town of Arvonia. This place was founded as a Welch settlement by J. 
Mather Jones and others, but includes people of various nationalities, and 
has become a village of considerable size. 

Proceeding a few miles further up the valley, we enter the new but promis- 
ing town of Beading, lately laid off as a town and railroad station. The sur- 
rounding lands are largely in the hands of eastern capitalists, who have the 
ability to build a good town at this point. There are a few things however, 
which are in general absolutely necessary to success in town building. There 
must bfc displayed, among other things, liberality, energy and printers' ink. 
Eastern capitalists are not infrequently totally oblivious of these necessities. 
They general expect to " keep the cake and eat it too." I am glad to be in- 
formed, however, that Reading is in the hands of parties who are disposed to do 
the fair thing for immigrants. 

Continuing our journey by railroad we pass the station of Horton, cross the 
Neosho River and arrived at Emporia. As the city has been fully described 
herein, we hasten westward up the broad and beautiful valley of the Cotton- 
wood, and pass the new station of Toledo. As the cars have been running but 
a few weeks, there is but little to indicate where the stations are to be. 

Cottonwood Falls, eighty-two miles from Topeka, is nearly in the centre of 
Chase county, of which it is the county seat. The rapid stream affords an excel- 
lent water power, which is improved by a saw and flouring mill. The stream 
is crossed by one of the King Wrought Iron Bridges. The town is pleasantly 
located, chiefly on the south side of the river, upon an undulating prairie roll 
which overlooks the valley. It contains about 500 inhabitants, and with the 
advent of the railroad is growing rapidly, as it is the shipping point for a great 
extent of fertile country to the southward. Westward from Cottonwood Falls, 
up the river a few miles, is a good mill at an excellent water power, and also 
another water power eight miles below the town. 

The stations of Elmdale, Hunts and Cedar Point occur in succession as we 
pass up the valley. The latter village is a short distance from the depot, 
nestled under a bluff on the south side of the Cottonwood upon which are 
growing a fringe of Red Cedar trees. The river affords at this point a good 
water power, which is well improved. 

Florence is a new town in Marion county, laid out about six months ago and 
now nsmbering in population some hundreds. It is built upon bottom land at 
the junction of Doyle creek and the Cottonwood, and promises to be a place of 
considerable business. There is an excellent water power here, waiting to be 
improved, as are many others on this excellent stream. 

The Cottonwood valley is, I think, among the most picturesque in the state. 
The bottoms are from one to three miles wide, and on either side excellent 
magnesian limestone crops out, at the top of the steep bluffs which wall in the 
vaUey. The stream is moderately well timbered, and abundant creeks and rilla 
break through the bluffs and enter it from the north and south. A marked 
characteristic of the scene, is the regularity with which the bluffs and projecting 



246 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

strata of rock lessen in height as we ascend the stream, until at Florence they 
are but a few feet above the level of the bottom lands. Huge rocks are laid in 
the abutments and culverts along this road, almost as they came from the 
quarry, with little use of hammer and chisel. For the mjst part they project 
themselves from the bluff, or have fallen part way down its side, and are ready 
to be transported to their near destination. 

Northwest from Florence, and in the Cottonwood valley, at the mouth of 
Clear Creek, is the village of Marion Centke, the county seat of Marion county. 
It is in the midst of the best farming land in the county. Two fine ana con- 
stant water powers are here awaiting capital for their improvement. 

The railroad leaves the Cottonwood at Florence and follows up Doyle Creek 
to the new village and colony of Conesburg, now Peabody, which was first 
opened to settlement in December, 1870. It is located on the north side of 
Doyle Creek. A splendid tract of country lies around and to the south of this 
place. There is very little timber in this region, but the soil is good and water 
abundant. 

From this place the road continues its southwest course over the divide, 
separating the wa,ters of the Cottonwood and the Arkansas rivers. At a dis- 
tance of fifteen miles from Peabody is Newton, the last station yet located ©n 
this road. It is on a tributary of the Little Arkansas river, called Sand Creek, 
where said creek is crossed by the old Texas cattle trail. At this writing, May 
10th, the cars only run to Florence, but they will run into Newton about July 
Ist, and the will road immediately be continued westward. The first house 
was built in Newton during the last ten days, but there is already a good deal 
of excitement in that vicinity as to its prospects. 

To the south and a little west of Newton, near the Little Arkansas, is the 
small village of Sedgwick, while still farther in the same course, on the banks of 
the Arkansas River is Parle City, located where the new Texas cattle trail 
crosses the river. 

Wichita, the county seat of Sedgwick county, is situated on the east bank of 
the Little Arkansas, at its junction with the Arkansas River, and is twenty-five 
miles south of Newton. It contains about 800 inhabitants and is a very active, 
thriving business place. The settlements in this county have nearly all been 
made within the last year, and there are yet thousands of beautiful claims to 
be taken under the pre-emption and homestead laws. Until this country was 
awakened by the speedy prospect of a railroad, very few were inclined to locate 
there. I visited Sedgwick county for the first time during this spring, and I 
think the Arkansas Valley the finest valley in the State, so far as the lay of the 
land, and excellent soil and water are concerned. It is not better than the 
Kansas valley perhaps, excepting in extent. The Arkansas valley is here from 
ten to twenty miles wide, and instead of being absolutely flat, is varied by very 
gentle rolls. The soil is a deep, rich loam, and is very quick and warm, and it 
contains considerable black sand. By digging three or four feet th; ough this 
soil one enter8,^in places, a composite layer of clay and gravel of irregular 
thickness, while in other places near by, the subsoil is entirely a compact bed 



THE A. T. & S. F. R. R. AND ITS TOWNS. 247 



of gravel or coarse sand. Beneath the composite strata referred to, one also 
strikes upon the gravel and sand subsoil. Here is displayed a striking system 
of sub-irrigation. The Arkansas River rises in the Rocky M< untains, and its 
banks are full during the growing season, owing to the melting snows in the 
mouiitains; but, although apparently ready to carry desolation all around by 
overflowing, it never does overflow, but underflows instead in the porous sub- 
Boil of the valley. By capillary attraction, it is evident that a portion of this 
water is drawn up within reach of the roots of growing vegetation. It is to be 
noted however that the roads are excellent, mud drying quickly after a rain_ 
Throughout this entire region, water is obtained by digging a fow feot on the 
nplatds, as well as on the bottoms, and small flowing streams are common on 




OXFORD WILEY, NO. 8,753. 
[Owned by N. L. CI affee, at Manhattan.] 
the prairies. The water is pure and soft. There is in this vicinity but little 
rock, magnesian limestone and gypsum being found in the eastern portion of 
Sedgwick county, and red sandstone in the western portion. There are indi- 
cations of coal, and the Lignite variety will undoubtedly be found in thia 
valley ; but coal will be transported on the cars from the mines in Osage 
county, so as to retail for twenty-five to thirty cents per bu-hel. Timber is 
found in limited quantities, but the people have adopted the herd law, by 
which every man cares for his own stock, and little fencing is needed. The law 
staiids for five years, during which time hedges will be grown. Iron ore has 
been discovered in the northwest portion of the county. 



248 Hutchinson's Kansas. 

All things considered, the Arkansas Talley is probably among the moat 
attractive portions of the state for settlers at this time. This Talley grows 
particularly fine vegetables. In short it is unsurpassed for the production of all 
tilled crops, while the region but a few miles southwest, described by Mr. 
Honeck on page 109, will furnish illimitable stock range summer and winter 
for many years, as it is not adapted to dense settlement, but almost every 
square mile in Sedgwick county will furnish excellent tillage land. 

Captain Henry Booth, who is favorable know to many Kansas men, having 
been a resident of Western Kansas for fifteen years, and for some time Post 
Trader at Fort Larned, thinks more rain falls on the Arkansas bottoms 
in that vicinity than falls generally ia Kansas anywhere west of Junction City. 
The river is wide and being at a higher stage of water it the summer season, 
he thinks it causes rain in its immediite vicinity. He has been familar with 
that region for ten years, and has full confidence that these wide bottom lands 
will prove to be very productive. The small streams of that region he says 
are fed by springs (which flow out so near the bed as to be out of sight in high 
water) and the streams are never dry. The stock range is the best he ever 
saw. Messrs. Beal and Boyd and others, took 1,500 head of Texas cattle into 
the vicinity of Ft. Larned in October last, and out of the lot about 20 died, the 
remainder wintering in good order on the grasses, with no other feed excepting 
salt. Of the rough land south of the Arkansas River, in the vicinity of the 
Big Bend, he speaks very highly as a pastoral region. The water is good and 
abundant, and the grass of excellent quality. The Buffalo killed there in 
April of this year were, fat after wintering on these grasses. He confirms the 
jaccount of abundant and delicious wild fruits. All these statements are also 
.confirmed by J. M. Steele, Representative from Sedgwick county, who is famil- 
iar with that country 

The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad has not been pushing its line 
very rapidly until this season, but its valuable land franchises are now in the 
hands of a powerful and enterprising corporation, and the road will speedily 
1)6 constructed up the broad valley of the Arkansas River and one of its tribu- 
taries to New Mexico. Passing through the boundless grazing and tillage 
lands of that territory, awakening to life the solitary places, and developing the 
untold mineral wealth of that region, it will pass on by the shortest and best 
line to the Pacific Ocean. It will also have such branch lines as the varied 
interests of its tributary regions may demand. The most valuable salt 
deposits in the United States are on the immediate southern border of Kansas, 
and will be developed by this road. The general direction and the excellent 
country for the most part, through which this road passes, must make it a very 
important route. 

— Since writing the foregoing I have had the pleasure of an interview with 
several of the oflBcers and directors of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Rail- 
road, who have recently (May, 1871,) explored the country on the line of their 
road, through Sedgwick, Rice, Barton, Rush and Pawnee counties, extending 
their trip via Fort Zarah, to Coon creek, 18 miles beyond Fort Larned. They 



THE A. T. & S. F. R. R. AND ITS TOWNS. 249 

followed the bottom lands of the Arkansas on their outward trip and returned 
on the upland prairies, 15 to 20 miles from the river. They report excellent 
grass and good soil throughout the entire route, even the uplands through the 
counties of Barton, Rice and McPherson as well as Sedgwick, ''howing a smooth 
even sod of blue stem — the most valuable of our prairie grasses — over almost 
the entire face of the country. Good building rock was also found in many 
places, abundant indications of coal were noticed, scattering groves of timber 
were seen, many running streams were crossed, and everywhere the settlers 
have found pure soft water at a depth of six to fifteen feet on the bottoms, and 
from twelve to thirty feet on the uplands. They saw and heard of numerous 
wells, and in but one instance did they learn of a well deeper than twenty-five 
feet. The water is uniformly found in gravel and is soft — (good for washing 
clothes) although the surface soil appears to contain an abundance of lime. 

Mr. W. 0. B. Peabody, Resident Engineer of the road, informs me that the 
genuine Kentucky Blue Grass was seen by him in many places, especially in 
the vicinity of the old Santa Fe wagon road. This road having been traveled 
for many years, as already explained, by teams from the Blue Grass regions of 
Missouri and Eastern Kansas, these teams have scattered the seed along the 
roadside for many miles to the westward. But Mr. Peabody assures me that 
he saw many thickly set and thrifty patches of blue grass at a distance from 
the Santa Fe road, which he is confident have sprung from seed conveyed by 
buffalo. He has spent many months in the best blue grass regions of Kentucky, 
where the exercise of his profession called him across a succession of fields set 
to grass, and he is confident that this grass in the Arkansas valley is the identi- 
cal Kentucky Blue Grass. This testimony is vastly valuable, for it settles the 
question, " will blue grass grow in Western Kansas." I have already shown 
how rapid and certain is its growth in Eastern Kansas, but I have supposed 
that we must await experiments before attempting to answer the above ques- 
tion. It is true there is every indication that it would succeed on the best 
lands in Western Kansas, It is also true that I have been repeatedly informed 
by persons of apparent reliability that they had seen Kentucky blue grass in 
Western Kansas. The evidence is conclusive that some kind of blue grass 
grows in many places in those regions, but not understanding how the Ken- 
tucky Blue Grass could get into that country, I have called it the Kansas blue 
grass. The explanation of Mr. Peabody is, however, entirely satisfactory, as 
the bufifalo would naturally transport to a considerable distance the blue grass 
seed they would crop in their ramblings across the Santa Fe road. In Eastern 
Kansas, cattle will in two or three years seed the prairies, in places, for miles 
around a blue grass pasture. I am now satisfied that the farmers in Saline, 
McPherson, Lincoln, Ottawa and other counties, were correct in their conelu- 
eions that they had discovered small patches of Kentucky bine grass in that 
r«gion, which were annually spreading and driving out the bufiFalo grass. 

The General Manager of the road is T. J. Peter, and its lands are sold by 
Land Conmissioner D. L. Lakin, of Topeka. This road sells on long time, as 
do all Kansas Railroads, but this (Company has also devised a plan whereby a 



250 

liberal deduction of about ono-third is made to actual settlers in consideration 
of improvements upon the lands. The road bed, the masonry and all the 
appointments of this line are most excellent, furnishing in themselres a satis- 
factory guaranty, aside from the high reputation of the oflBcers of the road, 
that this compaay will construct a first class through line. 

TOWNS NOT HERETOFORE DESCRIBED. 
All the villages and cities of any importance, situated upon a railroad, or 
within a county through which a railroad passes, have a'ready been described. 
It is deserving of notice, for the benefit of Eastern readers, that by the word 
" town " we mean a village or a city. Subdivisions of land, each six miles 
square, are called townships, but every collection of houses is called a town in 
the West, and occasionally, the inhabitants call their place a city before there 
are many houses to be seen. 

Wabaunsee County contains no towns with more than a few hundred inhab- 
itants. Alma, the county seat, is situated on Mill Creek, which stream fur- 
nishes excellent water power toward its mouth. Near the stream, below 
Alma, is Newbury, and in the central portion of the county is EskHdge. Id 
the northwestern portion of the county, on the Kaasas River, is Wabaunsee^ 
a village laid out by the Connecticut col ny, which came to Kansas, under the 
management of C. B. Lines, in 1856. The colony was caL'ed "Beecher's 
Sharp's Rifles," from the fact that Henry Ward Beecher presented to each male 
member a Sharp's rifle and a Bible. 

This county, as well as Pottawotomie county, and a large portion of Jacksen 
and Shawnee counties, was largely in the possession of the Pottawotomie 
Indians until recently, and therefore the land thus held is but sparsely 
populated. 

Washington County is on the north line of the State, and Little Blue River 
runs through its northeastern portion, afi"ording excellent water power at 
Hanover and Ballard's Falls, both awaiting development. The county seat is 
Washington, a town of about 500 inhabitants, situated on the north side of 
Mill Creek, on undulating second bottom. There is here a water grist mill and 
saw mill, and also others six miles down the stream. Coal has been little 
developed, as wood is delivered at $3.50 per cord ; but there is coal in abund 
ance, and it is used by blacksmiths, which tests its quality. 

Republic County, next west of Washington, is abundantly watered, the 
Republican River running across its western portion, which is described by 
the letter from Mr. Warner. New Scandinavia is situated on the east bank of 
the Republican, and has fine unimproved water power. Bellville, the county 
seat, is situated centrally in the county, on high table land a very little rolling. 
It is between Riley and Salt Creeks. This central portion of the county 
although high, is said to be good tillage land, while the valleys are excellent. 
Jewell County, is but sparsely settled, the firs* emigrants going in the spring 
of 1870, but many hundred families have gone there and into the region beyond. 
Jewell City is the county seat. It is very favorably spoken of. 



TOWNS NOT HERETOFORE DESCRIBED. 251 

Mitchell County south of Jewell, has in its limits two thriving towns. Caw- 
ker City is situated in the northwest portion of the county on the north side 
of the Solomon, at the confluence of the North and South Forks of that stream. 
Other streams also enter near here, making this place the centre of a number 
of valleys and giving a good supply of timber, much of which is hard wood. 
There is here a good steam saw and grist mill. East of this place, and nearly 
in the centre of the county, is Beloit, the county seat, beautifully situated on 
the south bank of the Solomon River, which is also thriving apace. The sur- 
rounding country is highly spoken of. 

Osborne and other counties to the west of Mitchell, are watered by the South 
Fork of the Solomon and its tributaries. Settlements are just beginning to 
extend into this attractive country. 

Lincoln County lies south of Mitchell. The Saline River runs through its 
entire length, furnishing one or two water powers. The county is well watered 
and is highly prized by its citizens for stock purposes. A good deal of 
blue grass is f^aid to grow upon the bottoms, furnishing winter feed. Ahram 
has recently been laid out near the centre of the county as county seat. 
Another town is being laid out by the side of a water power in the western 
portion of the county. Magnesian limestone rock extends entirely across the 
bottom of the river. Messrs. Ira C. & H. S. Buzic, Schemerhorn, Green, Powers 
Lyden Barrett, Penny Freebon and others, each wintered from 500 to 1,000 
bead of cattle upon the native grasses, and they came out in very good order, 
with small loss. Others did this all thorugh Western Kansas, but I mention these 
names because they were furnished me by a friend who is acquainted with 
the parties. The Lincoln County Gazette was established at Abram since my 
list of papers was put in type . 

Ottawa County is a fine county of land, both for farming on the wide bottoms 
of the Solomon and Saline and tributaries, and for farming and grazing on the 
uplands. The county seat is Minneapolis, situated on gently rolling prairie 
on the east side of the Solomon River near the mouth of Pipe Creek, a con- 
siderable stream of constant running water. A dam 120 feet in length extends 
across the Solomon, built on rock bottom, and a flouring and saw mill is con- 
stantly running by water power. Li^idsay, two miles below, also has a water 
power not yet improved, a short distance below the town. At Delphos, on the 
Solomon in the north part of the county is a water power, and also on the 
Saline in the southwestern corner of the county. T. E. Scott keeps about 700 
head of sheep in this county, with profits that are entirely satisfactory to him- 
self. Jacob Campbell and many others keep large droves of cattle. 

Cloud County, situated north of Ottawa, is watered both by the Republican 
and Solomon Rivers and their tributaries. 

Concordia is the county seat, and also contains the United States Land Office 
for the Repu>^lican Land District. The town was located in 1870, on the south 
side of the Republican River, on second bottom and bluff" land. The site is a 
beautiful one, and the town is growing rapidly. Clyde and Shirley are thriv- 
ing villages on the Republican, in the northeastern part of the county, and 



252 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

Glascoe was lately laid out on the Solomon, in the southwestern part of the 
county. It is in the region of the Bepublican River that are found the salt 
marshes described by Professor Mudge. I am informed by B. H. McEckron, 
Representative from this county, that there flow into the Republican in this 
county, three timbered streams on the north side of the river, and thirteen on 
the south side. A few miles north of Concordia a valuable coal mine haa 
recently been opened, from which coal is carried forty miles, to Waterville, 
and there used for blacksmithing. The eastern half of this county is red sand« 
stone formation, and the western half Magnesian limestone. 

Clay County lies eastward of the last mentioned county, and the Republican 
River runs through the county from the noi th western to the southeastern cor- 
ner, with numerous tributaries, while Chapman's Creek winds through the 
southwestern part of the county. 

Clay Centre is the county seat, and is situated on the north side of the 
Republican. The site slopes gently to the southwest, and a stream, fed by 
living springs, courses through the lower portion of the town. They have 
erected a stone school house and Baptist church. A flouring and saw miU 
stores, &c., also are to be found here. 

Republican City is situated near the river of that name, and is in the centre 
of the county. It was recently laid out, but has stores, a hotel, drug store, &c. 
Bituminous(?)coal is found in this county, of very good quality ; and lead ore 
has recently been dscovered in the northern portion of the county, which, by 
analysis at St. Louis, yielded ninety per cent, of lead. A company is organ- 
ized to test its value. On the Republican, in the southeastern portion of the 
county, is Wakefield, a thriving village, in an excellent country. It was laid 
out by an English colony, under the charge of Rev. Mr. Wake. This county 
contains fine lands, both for cultivation and grazing. 

We have thus rapidly glanced at the northwestern unties of Kansas. All 
that this region needs for its thorough developmect/ia railroads. There are 
no land grants yet made for that section of the state, but if by granting 
every other section, two or three railroads could be constructed through that 
region, it would be vastly better for all. Eighty acres, five miles from a rail- 
road, is better than 160 acres, fifty miles from a railroad. Railroads will 
soon push into this country, as the attractions of these valleys are too great to 
remain much longer unawakened by the whistle of the locomotive. But if 
no land grants are made, local subsidies wiil be necessary, and these can only 
be made available in the form of county, township or city bonds. 

Crossing the Kansas Pacific Railway, the only organized county in Cen- 
tral or Western Kansas, of which we have not spoken, is McPherson. Thia 
county is watered in the north part by the Smoky Hill River and its tributa- 
ries, and the Little Arkansas passes through the southwestern portion, receiv- 
ing Turkey Creek, which rises in the central portion of the county, and is 
timbered with hard wood. The wide bottoms along these streams, are excel- 
lent agricultural land, and the county is well watered, afl'ording fine range 



TOWNS NOT HERETOFORE DESCRIBED. 253 

for stock. LiNDSBoRG, formerly known as Sweedale, is situated on the north 
bank of the Smoky Hill River, and is the county seat. It was located by the 
"Ist Sweedish Agricultural Colony," organized in Chicago, under the direction 
of Rev. 0. Olsson and others. In the eastern part of the county is another 
Sweedish colony from Galesburg and Berlin, Illinois, Rev. A. Dahlsten pastor. 
These gentlemen have organized two large and flourishing Lutheran churches. 
The country is excellent, and some large stock farms have been opened. A 
Kentucky colony is located on the rich lands of Gypsum Creek, in the eastern 
part of the county, and there are good settlements in the south portion of the 
ceunty and excellent land. 

Of the country west from this county, I have already spoken sufficiently itt 
detail. This entire Arkansas Valley region, with the val'eys of its numerous 
tributaries, will soon be noisy with the hum of busy multitudes, who will be 
making homes, planting crops, trees and hedges, and building railroads and 
towns. The town of Atlanta was lately located centrally in Rice county, by an 
enterprising company. 

Crossing the fine county of Sedgwick, already described under the head of 
of the A. T. & S. F. R. R., we enter Sumner County, which is on the south line 
of the state, and entirely within the " Osage Lands," which we have already 
shown are for sale to actual settlers only at $1.25 per acre. The Arkansas 
River passes through the eastern portion of this county, and this, Vfith, 
other streams, suflSciently waters a very excellent country. The first settlers 
went into this country during the spring of 1871, but it is rapidly being 
occupied. It is not yet organized, and I do not know where its principal town* 
are situated. Sumner is a magnificent county. 

The country west of Sumner county has been but little explored. Its valley* 
are highly spoken of for cultivation, in the letter published from Mr. Honeck, 
while its uplands are evidently unsurpassed for grazing, and it must be a 
good fruit region. 

CowLBT County lies east of Sumner, and is watered by the Arkansas, which 
flows along the western line of the county a distance of 25 or 30 miles, and also 
by the Walnut, a fine stream which runs through the central portion of the 
county and empties into the Arkansas River near the State line. Near the 
confluence of these streams is Arkansas City, which was laid out in the fall 
of 1870, and contains several hundred inhabitants, and is rapidly improving. 
A pontoon bridge is about to be built across the Arkansas River at this place. 
Korth of this place, and at the junction of Timber Creek with the Walnut 
River is Winpikld, the county seat of Cowley county. It Is situated on 
second bottom and overlooks the broad and beautiful valley. Two water 
powers are here found, and there are numerous water powers in the county. 
This county has timber, stone, ooal and as good land as lies out of doors. 
Winfield was laid out by E. C. Manning in January, 1870, and contains 500 or 
more inhabitants. This entire county is within the Oiage Trust Lands. 

Butler Oun^y— Moving northward up the Walnut we cross the county line 
and soon reach the village of Douglas, which tae a valuable unimproved water 



254 Hutchinson's Kansas. 

power. Twelve miles up the Walnut is Augusta, which la the seat of tne U. S. 
Land OflBce for this district. It is a new place, but is rapidly improving, and ia 
said to contain more than 500 inhabitants. It is situated at the confluence of 
the Whitewater and Walnut rivers, with a water power on both streams. 
Twelve miles above Augusta is Eldorado, the county seat of of Butler county. 
It is a thriving and substantial town, with about jOO inhabitants, built on 
gently sloping second bottom, at the junction of the main Walnut with the 
West Branch. It has an unimproved water power. There are many other 
water powers in this county, as the streams are all rapid and fed by numerous 
large springs. The Walnut valley is one of the finest portions of Kansas Ita 
railroad facilities are yet undetermined, but it is probable that a road will soon 
be constructed from some po'nt on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, 
down this rich valley through Butler and Cowley counties, while other roada 
will penetrate this region from the east. 

Eastward from Butler is Greenwood county, also a very valuable connty of 
land, and with an abundance of timber, stone, water and water power. The 
Verdigris and Fall River com so through this county from north to southeast, 
furnishing water power every few miles, and receiving numerous tributaries. 
Two mills are bow run by water. Good coal has been opened in various parts 
of the county. Eureka is the county seat, and the only town of importance in 
ihe county. It is centrally located, on Fall River, and contains a population 
of about 800, and is a town of substantial growth and character. Greenwood 
City has been recently laid out near the eastern line of the county in an excel- 
lent faroaing region. Eureka will undoubtedly be connected with the world 
by rail at no distant day by a line running eastward, but probably the first 
railroad she obtains will be a branch from the L. L. & G. R. R. at Ottawa via 
Burlington. 

Wilson County lies southeast of Greenwood, and is also well watered by 
Fall River and Verdigris, which run through the count. , receiving many 
tributaries, and unite near the southern border. At their confluence is Neodo- 
sha, a thriving town with a population of about 800. It has water power and 
three good mills, a grist mill and a three foot vein of coal, one mile from town. 
At Fredonia, the county seat, and Fall River, above Verdi, on thd Verdigris, 
and at Guilfoi-d, Altoona, Coyville and Jackson's Mills, are improved water 
powers. Fredonia and Altoona are towns of importance. Buffalo is a post- 
oflBce and village in the northeastern portion of the county. 

Montgomery County is south of Wilson, and like that county, is almost 
entirely within the Osage Trust Lands. It is the eastermost county on these 
lands, and has settled with great rapidity, and its lands, especially the valleys, 
are highly esteemed by the settlers. It is watered by the Verdigris River 
and its tributaries. Independence, on this stream, and in the center of the 
county, is the county scat. It is a thriving place of nearly a thousand inha'n- 
tants. The Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston Railroad is now being com- 
pleted diagonally through this county to the south line of the State, but at 
this writing I am not informed as to its route. The county is well supplied 
with coal, timber and stone. Parker is the second largest town and ia 



I 



IRRIGATION. 255 

located ia the southeastern portion of the county. There is an abundance of 
water power in the county, and a number of mills run by water. There are 
also several villages, among which are Radical City, Elk City, Coneyville, Ennis- 
vUle and Liberty. 

Howard County lies to the west of Montgomery, and is also entirely within 
the Osage Trust Lands. It is watered by Elk River, Big Caney, Middle Caney, 
and many other smaller streams The county has an abundance of water 
power. There ia a great deal of fine bottom land in the county, but perhaps 
it has not so large an amount of tillage land in comparison with the grazing 
land, as the adjoining counties. It is rapidly settling, but there are many 
choice farms yet to be taken at $1.25 per acre. I am not able to say what Is 
the county seat, as the question has been in dispute. Longton, Elk Falls and 
Peru are the principal towns in the county. The first settlers went into the 
county but a few months ago, but the population is rapidly increasing. 

IRRIGATION. 

I think the only stream in Kansas from which 
water can ever be used to any considerable extent 
for irrigation, is the Arkansas Kiver. The benefits 
of irrigation are in demand only during about three 
months of each year, while crops are growing, and 
at that time the streams in Kansas, as everywhere 
else, unless fed by mountain rivlets flowing from 
perpetual snows, are at their lowest. It is true that 
upon small streams, dams may be made, and by erect- 
ing windmill pumps at wells, reservoirs may be filled, 
but for extensive operations in irrigation, the Arkan- 
sas is the only stream that can be relied upon. Not 
only is this stream at its highest stage during the 
summer, but its banks are everywhere low, so that 
water may be taken from it without difficulty. The 
fall of the Arkansas Eiver in the Indian Territoy is 
estimated by Mr. O. Chaniite at two feet per mile. 
In Kansas, the country rises much more rapidly to 
the west, and the fall of the river is probably two or 
three times these figures. In Colorado, main irriga- 
tion ditches are given a grade of from two to five 
feet per mile, accroding to that excellent authority, 
the Rocky Mountain News. The Arkansas therefore 



256 Hutchinson's Kansas. 

has fall enough for irrigation purposes, especially when 
we take into consideration its numerous windings. 

Another important element in this discussion is the 
character of the soil to be irrigated. I have not 
made anything like an exhaustive investigation of 
this subject, but it appears that a sandy soil is essen- 
tial to success in irrigation. It is probable that 
a clay soil would retain the water so long as to 
bake the surface and injure the roots, and from a 
few experiments made in this State I think the same 
thing true, but to a less degree, of our prairie loam. 

It is questionable whether there is much land in 
Kansas, excepting in the extreme western portion, 
that is adapted to irrigation, and I am quite confi- 
dent that with deejp tillage, there is little land in the 
State that needs irrigation, excepting in the extreme 
western portion. Some however have supposed, not 
from experiment, but from the appearance of the 
soil, that the Arkansas Eiver region, above Fort 
Dodge, would be benefitted by irrigation. If this be 
true, we may look to that vicinity for magnificent 
irrigation operations within a very short time. 

While in Colorado recently, I obtained a few items 
upon this subject which may interest the reader. 
The city of Denver is irrigated by a ditch which is 
carried along a gentle eminence, rising at the eastern 
outskirts of the city. The water is conveyed in a com- 
mon ditch, which is about three feet wide and three 
feet deep, although usually of greater width than 
depth. At convenient distances, conductors made of 
four, 2 inch pine plank, 6 to 12 feet long, are placed 
in the lower bank of the canal. The lower end, or 
mouth of all these troughs, extends beyond the em- 
bankment to prevent washing. At the upper end is 
a gate, which may be opened to any desired hight, 
indicated upon it in inches, and when in place it is 
fastened with a strong padlock. The water is con- 
veyed from the largest ditch to a set of smaller ones, 



IRRIGATION. 257 

from which it is distributed through troughs with 
gates, as above described, to still smaller ditches, 
which run through the city at the edge of the side- 
walks, and from which it is taken into the yards and 
gardens. The ditch gates in Denver vary from 
8x8 inches to 16x16 inches in size. The price for 
water was formerly $5.00 per year for a single lot of 
25x125 feet. Farmers above the city are supplied 
from this ditch at the rate of $3.00 per square inch. 
That is, a gate is opened to such a hight as to make 
an opening, say 32 inches square. The gate is then 
locked, and the water flows through the opening dur- 
ing the entire season, which the farmer conducts 
upon his land in such manner as suits him. For this 
he pays $96.00 for the season. When a company 
owns a ditch, the price varys from $2.00 to $3.00 per 
inch. Usually, however, the farmers co-operate to 
construct and own a ditch themselves, when the cost 
is considerably less. It is ordinarily calculated that 
from one-half an inch, to one inch of water is required 
through the growing season, to each acre irrigated. 
One farmer told me he irrigated 35 acres with 20 
inches of water, and that it required one man to 
attend to the irrigation during three months time. 
The water was applied to every portion of the 
ground about once a week, running in one set of 
email ditches ten or twelve hours, and then turned 
onto another part of the field for the same period. 
The engineer of the Greeley colony reports the com- 
pletion of a canal 26 miles long. The cost of exca- 
vating was $22,669, there being 107,949 cubic yards 
at 21 cents per yard. It would seem that there is 
some mistake in the figures, for a ditch of the above 
size would only convey about water enough to irri- 
gate 3,000 acres, allowing one-half inch per acre. 
This would be quite expensive irrigation. Fre- 
quently water is taken from streams at a trifling 
11* 



258 Hutchinson's Kansas. 

expense, but ordinarily it may be said that the cost 
of loater for irrigation, varies from 50 cents to $3.00 
per acre, each year. 

ALTITUDES. 

No pains have been spared to obtain the correct 
elevations of different places in Kansas above the 
ocean level for use on the accompanying map. The 
Superintendents and Chief Engineers of the various 
railroads kindly furnished me the levels of their 
respective lines, but no two were from the same base. 
In order to arrive at the altitude above the ocean, I 
applied to Mr. O. Chanute, of Kansas City, Chief 
Engineer of the M. R., Ft. S & G., the L. L. & G. and 
the A. & N. R. Railroads, and whose scientific accu- 
racy is well known. 

Mr. Chanute informed me that by the levels of the 
Mobile & Ohio R. R, high water of 1849 at Columbus, 
Kentucky, was 308t feet above tide water at Mobile. 
The levels of the Illinois Central and Ohio & Missis- 
sippi R. B. from Columbus via Cairo to St. Louis, 
corrected by test levels over the Iron Mountain R. 
R. from Columbus show the St. Louis Directrix to be 
403 feet above the Gulf. Mr. Chanute has not been 
able to obtain what he considers entirely reliable 
figures showing the elevation of the mouth of the 
Kansas River above St. Louis, but according to the 
best data at his command, the bottom land at State 
Line and Kansas City, on which is situated the 
Union Depots, is 748 feet above tide water at Mobile. 
The fall of the Missouri River he reckons at 0,664 
feet per mile, making St. Joseph, 109 miles up the 
river, 820 feet above the ocean. 

Denver at the foot of the Rocky Mountains in 
Colorado Territory, 638 miles west of Kansas City 
by the K. P. K. is 6,100 feet above the ocean level. 
— - nfci . — — 

Note.— The elevation of Newton on the A. T. & fcJ. K. K. is not correctly shown 
n ti« accompanying map. It should be 1,445. 



1 



PRODUCTIONS OF KANSAS. 259 



PRODUCTIONS OF KANSAS. 



It would seem that enough had been said about the 
productions of the State, but I am in receipt of such 
questions as these: Can you raise vegetables in 
Kansas ? Can you raise sorghum in Kansas ? Is it 
a good country for hogs ? etc., etc. Perhaps some of 
these questions have not been directly answered in 
the preceding pages. 

Kansas is an excellent country for vegetables and 
vines. Mellons grow in profusion. The best Irish 
potatoes grow on land which has in it the most sand, 
and a crop should be planted for summer use as soon 
as the frost is out of the ground, and then a crop 
planted in June for winter use. Some persons cover 
their potatoes with straw instead of earth, at plant- 
ing, dropping the seed in a furrow. Potatoes are 
always of good quality, and produce a good crop if 
planted in this way. This is an excellent country 
for sweet potatoes, and by packing them in dry sand 
in tight boxes or barrels, they are kept through the 
winter nicely, in a cellar of moderate temperature. 
Cellery and asparagus also thrive. A gentleman in 
Leavenworth blanched his cellery successfully, by 
letting it grow thickly together on rich land, instead 
of heaping earth about the stalks. The leaves 
shaded the stalks so completely that they grew 
tender and white. Sorghum is a crop whfch has 
never failed. Even during the famous " dry season " 
its long roots found sufficient moisture below the 
surface — another proof of the value of deep cultiva- 
tion. Peanuts are easily grown here on our lightest 
lands. In short, anything that grows in the States 
east of Kansas in this latitude, or farther north, can 
be produced, cheaply in profusion here. Sod corn is 
grown by planting corn on newly turned prairie sod, 
cutting through it with an ax or spade. The seed is 
put in this opening, and the planter presses the sod 



260 Hutchinson's kansas. 

with his foot as he walks along. No after culture 
can be given, as the sod is too tough to be cultivated, 
but weeds do not appear the first year, and from 20 
to 40 bushels of corn may be grown if planted before 
June. The sod rots the first year, and afterward 
plows easily. 

HOGS. 

Concerning fattening pork, a large number of our 
best farmers lately gave their opinions through the 
Kansas Farmer^ that they can grow corn at the 
present prices for labor, etc., at 40 cents or less per 
bushel. They agreed, as do farmers generally, that 
corn fed in the ear, will produce ten pounds of pork 
for each bushel of corn. This refers to fattening 
hogs after they are grown to proper size, and means 
that a hog in fair condition and of decent stock, 
weighing 250 pounds, can be made to weigh 350 
pounds by feeding 10 bushels of corn. In raising 
hogs, our farmers have but recently commenced upon 
what is to be a system extensively practiced, and 
that is to graze them on red clover, winter rye, sor- 
ghum, etc. Some farmers pasture sheep or young 
cattle on winter rye during the winter, and then let 
it grow and ripen, and turn hogs in to harvest it. 
The object is save labor and thereby increase the 
^profits. 

Perhaps it is out of place, but I must protest 
against the notion of some people that it will not 
pay to use fertelizers. Deep plowing, and rotation 
of crops, will keep our lands in good heart for gen- 
erations probably, yet it will pay to apply all the 
manure that is made on a farm. Farmers in Illinois, 
Iowa, etc., have found this out, and Kansas farmers 
are also beginning to learn it. 



MANUFACTURES. 261 

MANUFACTURES. 

While it is true that Kansas is to be pre-eminently 
renowned for stock raising, agriculture and fruit 
growing, it is not less true that with our water power 
and cheap coal, certain branches of manufacturing 
will prove very remunerative. Aside from flouring 
mills, the demand for which is apparent and is not 
half supplied, there should be many more agricul- 
tural implement manufactories. It is needless to 
say that the demand is extensive and incessant and 
constantly increasing, and it is evident that such 
material as is not to be found in this State, can be 
shipped here for a less rate than can cumbersome 
machinery after it is put together. The same is true 
of wagons, carriages, etc. In the manufacture of 
woolen fabrics of coarser grade, there certainly will 
be great profit, as the material is at hand, and the 
market is extensive both here and in the newer 
regions south and west. Cotton can be obtained^ 
cheaply also, as it is grown successfully in the Indian 
Territory which lies immediately south of us, and 
our railroad lines, will within a year, penetrate the 
vast cottonfields of Texas, which are less than three 
hundred miles distant from our southern State line. 

The following extract from the Bulletin of the Na- 
tional Woolen Manufacturers' Association, furnishes 
conclusive testimony as to the adaptation of the 
West to the business of manufacturing goods of 
common grade: 

*'The advantages legitimately claimed by the 
western manufacturers are, the saving of transporta- 
tion on both raw material and fabrics; the facility of 
sending directly to customers — no commissions being 
paid to middlemen in the large cities — and the public 
sentiment of the consumers in favor of the products 
of their own region, which is encouraged by the 
confidence that the goods are honestly made. It is 



262 



HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 



evident from facts observed by us, that the West will 
hereafter rely to a large extent upon the products of 
its own mills for ordinary cloths, and that the East 
must relinquish this market, or compete by cheaper 
productions, or a higher class of fabrics." 



FREIGHTS. 



The following table, furnished me by Messrs. 
Kidenour -fe Baker, Wholesale Grocers, at Lawrence, 
shows that freights between Kansas and the East 
are very reasonable. Goods from New York are 
delivered at the Missouri Eiver cheaper than at 
most of the towns in the interior of Illinois. The 
strife between the various through lines, which com- 
pete for the increase trade of Kansas and the west 
and southwest, is sufficiently dwelt upon under the 
head of Eailroads, and it is there shown that this 
competition is no inconsiderable item in the long list 
of causes which bring so many people to Kansas 
and make them so prosperous after they get here : 

TABULAR STATEMENT of the rates of freight per hundred pounds, betwem 
the various cities mentioned, and the State of Kansas at the Missouri river 
January 1, 1871. Prepared by Messrs. Ridenour <£ Baker, wholesale grocers, 
laun-enee, Kansas. 



New York.... 

Boston 

Philadelphia 
Pittsburg .... 
Columbus .... 
Cincinnati.... 
Indianapolis. 

St. Louis 

Buffalo 

Cleveland .... 

Toledo 

Detroit 

Chicago 

Quincy 



FIRST 


SECOND 


THIRD 


CLASS. 


CLASS. 


CLASS. 


$2 60 


$2 03 


$1 69 


2 60 


2 03 


1 69 


2 60 


2 03 


1 69 


1 70 


1 20 


1 00 


1 40 


1 05 


85 


1 00 


75 


75 


90 


75 


65 


60 


40 


40 


2 40 


1 85 


1 60 


1 70 


1 20 


1 00 


1 70 


1 20 


1 00 


1 70 


1 20 


1 00 


1 00 


75 


75 


60 


40 


40 



FOURTH 
CLASS. 

$1 14 

1 14 

1 14 

85 

60 

50 

45 

30 

1 05 

85 

85 

85 

50 

30 



FREIGHTS. 263 

The above are winter rates. Summer rates are 
about 30 to 50 per cent less. First class rates from 
New York and Boston to the Missouri Eiver are 
now, May 1, 1871, $1.84 per hundred. 

First class includes household goods well boxed j 
and on some roads, second had furniture, well boxed, 
accompanied by passengers, but most railways 
charge double first class rates on these articles, 
except by special contract. Agricultural implements, 
by special contract, and farm wagons in pieces, are 
first class. Also, dry goods, boots and shoes and 
general merchandise. Classified lists showing in what 
class any particular article will be rated, can be seen 
upon application to any railroad, or freight express 
agent. There are many articles, especially in the 
fourth class, upon which special rates can be obtained 
by shipping full car loads. Immigrants to Kansas are 
also enabled to make contracts for greatly reduced 
rates per hundred on their household goods, furni- 
ture, farming implements, farm stock, etc. 

Messrs. Eidenour & Baker estimate that the rateg 
of freight of the same class going east are about 
one-third less than they are coming west. Wool, 
sacked, is classed by all roads between here and the 
eastern cities, at one-and-a-half times first class rates. 
At the present rate of $1.84 cents per hundred from 
New York, freight on wool would be $2.96 per hun- 
dred. Deduct one-third for eastern bound freight, 
and it leaves $1.98 per hundred. In shipping by the 
car load, less rates can be obtained. But it is safe to 
calculate that the wool grower not only raises his 
fleeces at the trifling cost already described, but he 
can then ship them to New York or Boston for two cents 
per pound. How can eastern wool growers compete 
with these advantages ? 



264 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

WHEN TO COME TO KANSAS: 

There are many evident reasons why it is better 
to ceme to Kansas now^ than to come a few years 
hence. The census of 1880 will show the prediction 
of Horace Greeley to be true, " that ten years will 
give to Kansas a population of one million of inhabi- 
tants." The increase of the last five years has been 
at a much higher proportional rate than this, and 
emigration is likely to increase rather than diminish. 
It needs no argument to show that it is better to be 
in advance of, rather than than to follow, this tide of 
human beings. In a few years the railroads will all 
be built; the towns established; the water powers 
improved, and high prices for land and lots will pre- 
vail. Lands which can now be brought for five 
or ten dollars per acre, or taken as homesteads, will 
then be worth thirty to one hundred dollars per acre. 
Mill seats with good water power can now be had 
without expense, by those who will improve them. 
Coal mines that are to yield enormous profits may 
now be purchased at a nominal cost, and land can 
be bought for a song, upon which busy villages and 
towns are speedily to be established. 

One takes a sleeping car in New York and reaches 
Kansas in three days fresh, vigorous and ready for 
business. He finds towns already established with 
as good churches, schools and society as in any 
eastern town, but which are soon to double or treble 
their population. If he prefers fresher fields for 
enterprise, or cheap lands for tillage, the railroads 
will take him in a few hours where he can purchase 
at low rates and on long credit — or, by continuing 
his travels a day's journey from the depot he can 
find free Homesteads and " Land for the Landless." 

Nor is this all. It is quite unnecessary to take 
risks in founding towns, and making valuable im- 
provements. Town building has dome to be a legiti- 



HOW TO COME TO KANSAS. 265 

timate and 'important part of railroading in the 
west, it is quite useless for private companies to 
attempt to rival railroads in this line, and so town 
building is no longer a doubtful and dubious business. 
The railroad system is now so well established in 
this state that it is not difficult to tell about where 
the lines will run, and to select localities where good 
towns will find support, but where there are now 
limited improvements and low prices. So also, to 
one who seeks a farm in the interior, there is not 
the uncertainty as to the future which prevailed a 
few years ago. It is novv settled that every county 
must have, and soon will have, one or more railroads 
within its boundaries. As the counties are about 
twenty-four miles square, it follows that every farmer 
will soon be so near a depot, that he can drive to it 
and back again in one day. 

HOW TO COME TO KANSAS. 

Having determined to come to Kansas, the first 
necessity is to sell out where you now are. In this 
you will probabl}^ find trouble at once. You have put 
a certain price upon your property and say you must 
have it, but there are many others who want "to go 
out west," and there is much property on the market. 

First you must determine the question absolutely, 
do you want to go west? Having decided that you 
would on the whole prefer the west, sell out for just 
what your j^roperty loill bring. Have no fear that 
you will loose anything by selling at a low price, 
because the purchase you make in Kansas is certain 
to compensate you for such losses in a short time. 
Besides, if you are a fVirmer, 3'ou can carry on that 
business with such profits in Kansas, that you ought 
net to be detained a single month by the low price 
at which you must sell. While you are hesitating 
there, land is doubling in value here. Do not doubt 
12 



266 HUTCiilNSON'S KANSAS. 

that people eat and drink — sleep and wake — live and 
die — in Kansas very much as they do elsewhere. 
Have no fear but that you will find a plenty of people 
here who are much like those you leave behind. 
Make up your mind for hardships and privations — 
for Hickness and sorrow — because these are insepara- 
ble from humanity. Finally, remembering that home 
is as sweet and that heaven is as near, in Kansas as 
in any other country, with a stout heart prepare for 
your journey. 

WHAT TO BRING. 

It ia not difficult to determine what to bring with 
you in coming to Kansas. First ascertain how much 
money you can get for various household articles. 
Then' by learning the weight, you can, with the help 
of the chapter on freights in this book, determine 
what it will cost to bring each article to Kansas. 
With the assistance of the subjoined list of prices, 
you can then readily determine Avhat articles to 
bring. Generally speaking, you will bring all bed- 
ding, table linen and carpets, and in these carefully 
wrap, separately, crockery and table furnishings, 
because they wirt not sell for much at auction. There 
are numerous but indescribable articles for use and 
ornament, which cannot be sold at any price, and 
hardly.given away, yet they will help to make things 
comfortable and cozy, and you will probably be sorry 
if you leave them. In such cases the test is simply: 
"This article weighs so much, and it will cost so much 
to take it to Kansas ; will it be worth as much when 
I get it there?" In this council the ladies should 
have a decisive vote, for upon them will devolve the 
greatest privations in "going West." Bring high 
priced furniture if you have any, and expect to want 
any here, but the less the better, unless you can reach 
Kansas with your pockets full of greenbacks. Com- 



WHAT TO BRING. 267 

mon furniture, mirrors and agricultual implements 
you will sell. It does not pay to bring any but good 
stock to Kansas, unless it be sheep, and that matter 
is treated under its appropriate head. 

One of the best things " to take" is a lunch basket 
filled with roast chicken, sandwiches, bread and but- 
ter, pickles, or a tumbler of tart jelly, a Washington 
pie, etc. For a small sum you can buy a lamp-heat- 
ing tea-pot or "^tna," thus making yourself quite 
comfortable wherever you are. Three meals a day 
can be obtained on all principal routes, for seventy- 
five cents per meal. If you start for the table as 
soon as the cars stop, and when there, without being 
boisterous, make yourself entirely at home, there is 
always a plenty of time. Take a sleeping car. It 
pays, no mutter what penurious people say. These 
cars are clean, ride easier than other cars ; are better 
ventilated and the company is more select. By this 
means you arrive at your journey's end vigorous and 
clear headed, and ready to see things just as they are. 
The cost is one dollar and fifty cents to two dollars 
per night, for double birth. Leave out a plenty of 
extra clothing, and prepare for the necessary expos- 
ures of travel. 

The following are the prices for the cheapest furni- 
ture at Ottawa, Kansas, which shows about the aver- 
age prices for the State: 



Bedsteads $4 00@ 4 50 

Tables, faU leaf. 5 00 

Tables, extension, ^ foot.. 1 75 

Chains, ^ ]4 dozen 4 50@ 5 00 

Tin safes, 3 shelves and 

drawer 7 00 

Bureaus, full size 15 00@18 00 

Bureau washstand 8 00 

Washstauds 4 00 

Mattresses, husk 5 00 

Mattresses, raosa 10 00@12 00 

Rockers, arm 4 00 

Rockers, cane seat 4 50 

R'ckers, sewing 1 50@ 2 50 



Cribs 4 00 

Wardrobes, black walnut..l5 60@18 00 

Lounges 3 50 

Lounges with mattress 6 50 

Cook stove No. 7, complete20 00 
Cook stove, Charter Oak, 

complete 27 00 

Cook stove. Concord, com- 
plete 27 00 

Ilf^ating stovss $6 00@10 00 

Stove pipe f^ joint 30 

Sad irons "^ ft) 08 

Milk pans each 25 

Fruit cans, q'tsf^ dozen... 1 00 



Toilet sets, giates, mantels, table cutlery, and house furnishing goods ai 
«Mi8t«rn prices. 



268 



HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 



Plowa, 12 inch Moline 
Breaker, rolling cutter, 
guage wheel, two sharesSO 00 

Plows, stirriDs, German 
steel 14 00 

Plows, stirring, caststeel, 
double shin IS 00 

Nearly all plows scour in this soil 



AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS. 

Plows, Robinson's Gang 
and Trench 100 00 

Cora planters, best two 
horse 70 00@75 00 

Mowing machines 130 00 

Combined mowing and 
reaping machines 175 00 200 00 



The above prices are only ten dollars above factory prices for freight. 
I Harrow teeth "&. K> 07® 



WagoBS, two horse, with 
brake, top box, neck 
yoke, st-\j chains and 
whiffletrtes i 

Pitchfurks, 2 tines 

Shovels, Ames' caststeel 

Hoes 



55 00@100 00 

75@ 90 
1 75 
50@ 75 1 



Axes, best 1 50 

Grindstones '^ ib 03 

Nails "^ keg, lOd 5 f 

75 

75 
00 



Saws, cross-cut %^ foot. 
Well buckets, each. 
Horse shoes, "^ keg. 

Hardware, putty, etc., as cheap as in Illinois or Ohio. 

PINE LUMBER. 

Flooring ^ M $37 50@ $50 00] Common boar's and 

!5iding%>. M 22 00® 30 OOl fencing-^ M 32 50@ 35 00 

Ceiling -tfiM 27 50@ 30 00 Lath "^ M *... 6 50 

Shingles ^0M 4 00@ 5 50 1 Windows (glazed) 8x10.. 175 

Finishing inch ^ M 40 00@ 50 OOj Doors, 4 panel 2 00@ 3 00 

Framing stuflf -0.M, 35 | Paper (building) -t). lb... 53^@ Q6}4 

MECHANICS WAGES. 



Carpenters '^ day $2 50(^$3 50 

Boss carpenters ^ day 4 00 

Painters ^square 1st coat 15 
Per square additionnl coat 10 
Masons common stone 

work '^ foot, laid in wall 16 
Best rubble "^, foot, laid in 

wall 20 



B«st hammer dressed 
ranged foot, laid in wall 30 

Brick work %^ M, laid in 
wall 16 00 

Fine cutting ^ squa.ie foot 1 00 

Plasterers ^, squ tre yard, 
3 coatsand lath 40 



Farm laborers command $25 per month and board. 

Work horses cost .$75 to $150 each. A yoke of oxen can be obtained for $12c 
to $150, and good milch cows are worth $35 to $60 each. 



THE COST OF LIVING. 

If one brings a family to Kansas intending to live 
upon a salary, hiring a house and buying at retail, 
he will not be likely to save more than he would 
upon the same salary in the East, provided he lives 
in the same style. Of course the matter of style is 
what costs in all families and rums manj-, but the 
apparent necessity for keeping up with our friends 
and neighbors, is not so pressing here as in old com- 
munities. In this therefore, there can be a saving. 
The item of rent is a heavy one here. The uses to 



THE COST OF LIVING. 



269 



which money may be put are so various and so profit- 
able, that 'people who build houses reeeive large 
returns for their investments. For instance, a neat 
house with a cellar, three or four rooms on the first 
floor and two chambers above, with a garden of a 
quarter or a half acre, will rent for from $20 to $30 
per month. Cottages with two or three rooms rent 
for $12 to $15 per month. Eents are payable monthly 
in advance. Few people rent for any considerable 
period. They soon "run up a smoke of their own," 
if it is but a humble domicil. He who lives in his 
own house, and buys when articles are plentiful and 
cheap, can live cheaper here than he can in the East, 
as the tables given below will testify; 



Flour, fi cwt $2 50 @$4 00 

Flour, graham, %>cwt 3 50 @, 4 00 

Corn meaP^. cwt 1 40 @ 

Potatoes ^, bushel... 50 @ 

Hams ^t? ft) 14 @ 

Bacon ^ ft) 14 @ 

Shoulders ^ ft) 10 @ 

Pork, pickled 13 @ 

Beef, dried ^. ft) 20 ® 

Mackerel %^ kit 1 64 @ 

White fish "-^ kit 1 65 @ 

Cod fish "f. ft) 123/^ 

Halibut "^ ft) l&% 

Cheese, N. Y. factory 

^ft) 20 @ 

Cheese, Kansas, ^ ft) 18 @ 

Butter f> ft) 25 @ 

Eggs^doz 18 @ 

Beans, Med. Navy 

^ft) 05 @ 

Sugar, N. , -^ ft) 12i^@ 

Sugar, Coffee, ~f, ft)... 15 

Siigar, hard, '^, ft) 16^^ 

Coffee,choice Rio p( ft) 23 @ 

Coffee, fair, ^ ft) 20 @ 

Coffee, Java, 0. G 30 

Molasses, Sorghum, 

%^ gallon 75 @ 

Molasses, N.O. ^ gal 
Syrup, f^ gallon. 



1 50 
60 
20 

W' 

15 

22 
4 25 

2 00 



15 



80 

90 @ 1 10 
60 @ 1 40 



Rice, (Carolina) ^ ft) 12^^^ 
Saltfi. bbl 3 50 @ 3 75 



10 ® 
15 (3^ 



0i 



Vinegar, ^ gallon 
Dried apples ^ ft).. 
Dried peaehes fi ^ 

Raisins^, ft) 30 

Prunes "f^, ft) 18 

Currants "f, ft) 18 

Blackberries^ ft) 18 @ 

Cherries, pitted 30 @ 

Raspberries ^ ft) 50 

Corn ^ bushel 45 

Oats ^ bushel 40 

Coal oil "^ gallon 50 

Rope, manilla, ^ B>.. 25 
Tobacco, best Navy, 

^ft) 80 @ 

Tobacco, G. I., "^ ft)... 80 
Tobacco, smoking, 

"^ft) 35 @ 

Tu's, No. 1, each 1 25 

Tubs, No. 2, each 1 10 

Tubs, No. 3, each 1 00 

Washboards, zinc, ea 30 

Buckets, 2 hoops, ea 25 

Buckets, 3 hoops, ea 30 

Beefsteak ^ft> 12i^@ 

Mutton chops ■^, fl>... 123^@ 

Pork steaks ^ ft) 12i|@ 

Teal Steaks '^tt) 12i|@ 



50 

20 
20 
20 
40 



1 00 



1 00 



Teas, fi ft) 90 @ 2 00 

The foregoing table was prepared for this book in 
January, 1871, by my friends Messrs. Eidenour & 
Baker, long established and favorably known grocery 



270 hftchinson's Kansas. 

merchants of Lawrence. They also have large branch 
houses at Topeka, Emporia and Tioga, all under the 
firm name either of Ridenour or of Baker, and these 
figures may therefore be relied upon as representing 
the average retail prices in this state at the time they 
were made. 

HORSES. 

The breeding of fii;e horses has come to be so important an interest in Kan- 
sas, that I desired to treat the subject in a considerate manner, and therefore 
applied to various " horse men" lor such data as was needful, but have received 
very little assistance in this direction. 

Through Mr. B. F. Akers, of Leavenworth, I learn that there are more than 
sixty thoroughbred horses and mares in this state, and among the lormer he 
quoted from memory the names of "Newry," " Chicamauga," "Veto," 
"Express," " Leinster," "General Mitckell," "Derby," "Orlando," "Prairie 
Boy," " Blondin," "Escape," etc. 

Among the dealers and breeders who have contributed most largely to the 
horse stock of the state by valuable importations of thoroughbred and trotting 
horses and mares, are Mr. B. F. Akers, Col. C. R. Jennison, H. D. Bunch » 
Steiner & Tough, and F. C. Buckley, all of Leavenworth; T)r. W. L. Challis, of 
Atchison; Mr. G. W. Greaver, of Wyandotte ; A.M. Eastman, of Topeka, who 
bred " Henry," a famous trotting hoi-se which has been taken East, and lately 
tretted a mile in 2:22}/^, on Flatwood Course, N. Y.; Mr. Conn, of Council 
Grove ; J. Reynold8,',of Howard county ; a gentleman who has recently brought 
several fine horses from Kentucky to Wyandotte county; and many others, 
also have horses of great value. The moneyed value to the state, of these 
efiforts to establish the reputation of Kansas for thoroughbred and trotting 
horses, is probably not fully appreciated by the most of us, and the writer 
confesses to a very moderate degree of enthusiasm upon the subject. Whether a 
horse trots a mile in 2:29}/^ or 2:30, seems a matter not of very great importance 
to the world, and if he will carry me safely sixty miles a day, I am not par- 
ticular as to his pedigree. But this is not the way horse fanciers regard these 
questions, and speed and blood command fabulous sums in the market. Farm- 
ers and breeders raise horses for the money there is in them, and there is 
certainly a great deal of money in the business of raising fine horses. In this 
regard the reputation of a state is of great importance. A Vermont horse will 
command a better price, with most buyers, than one of equal value from 
Maine, because of the reputation gained by the former state in this direction, 
and if any Western man wants a thoroughbred, he goes to Kentucky for it. 
The breeders in our state are confident that Kansas will soon have an enduring 
reputation for its fine horse stock. There are many young horses in this state 
which will soon be upon the market. Mr. Akers, above alJuded fo, introduced 



271 

to the Eastern public three noted trotters, bred in this state, vvhicti be named 
"Kansas Chief," "Kansas Qneen," and "Kansas Pet," and after a series of 
successes -with them tipon various conrses, he disposed of them for the handsome 
Bum of jifUen thousand dollars. The same gentleman also brought to the state 
the trotting stallion " Comas," of ■which a cut is given herewith. 

In this connection it gives me pleasure to state that the well known Ama'a 
Sprague of Provider.ce, Rhode Island, will soon open a large farm in this State' 
to be devoted principally to the breeding of fine horses and cattle. He is 
already the owner of some of the best stock in New Fngland, which will be 
immediately removed to this state to a farm purchased near Leavenworth for 
this purpose. Mr. Akers is associated with Mr. Sprague in this enterprise, and 
it is their purpose to fit up a farm of about 40,000 acres in the interior of the 
state, seed it to blue gra«s, divide it into suitable fields by osage hedges, erect 
substantial and commodious buildings, and put ujon the place the bef-( stock 
that can be procured. The enormous wealth, enterprising spirit and l)U iness 
sagacity of Mr. Sprague, combined with the thorough practical ktsowledge 
possessed by Mr. Akers, who has acquired a competency in thiH hnninesa in 
Kansas, renders the brilliant success of this scheme a foregone couclvisiou. In 
five ye.ir'is time these gentlemen will have the best stock farm in the world. 

'• COMAS." 

This well known trotting stallion was brought to Kansas by B. F. Akers 
being selected after a visit to the best breedirg studs in the country. He was 
foaled in 1863, and was bred in Iowa. Like "Kirkwood" and "Banhaw, jr.," 
he was got by Green's Bashaw, dam Topsey, by Prophet, by Hill's Termont 
Black Hawk, by Sherman 3Iorgan, by Justin Morgan, by True Brittou. 

Green's Bashaw, by Drake's (Vernol's) Black Hawk, lat dam by Webber's 
Tom Thumb ; 2d dam, " The Chas. Kent Mare," (dam of R^ sdyk'e Hamble- 
tonian, sire of Dexter,) by imported Bellfounder; 3d dam, "Old One Eye," by 
Hambletonian, (son of imported Messenger ; 4th dam, by imported Messenger. 

Drake's ( VernoVs) Black Hawk, by New York Black Hawk ; dam by Ken- 
tucky Whip, son of Cook's, or Blackburn's, Whip. 

New York Black Hawk, by Andrew Jackson, dam the celebrated Sally 
Miller, by Mambrino, by imp. Messenger- 

Andre^o Jackson, by Young Bashaw, dam by Whynot, son of imp. 
Messenger. 

Young Bashaw, by imp. Barb Grand Bashaw, dam by imp. Messenger. 

Mr. Otto Holstein, correspondent of the Field, Turf and Farm, in desctil'ing 
this horse, says, after giving his pedigree : " Here is blood enough on his 
sire's side to insure trotting qualiti'^s in his progeny. But this is not all. 
While the paternal bouse furnished to the trotting world ' Dexter,' • Lady 
Thorn,' 'Goldsmith Maid,' 'American Girl,' 'George M. Patchon,' kc, t'le 
maternal side has scarcely been a whit behind, for, from it, sprang the cele- 
brated 'Lancet' and the wonderful 'Ethan Allen,' the sire of 'Honest Allen,' 



272 



HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 



Pocahoutai, &c. Comas is, therefore, oce of the best bred trotting stallions in 
America, being a combination of the two most successful trotting families in 
the United S(ate% the Bashaw and the Messenger, with the additional excel- 
lence of the Black Hawk. 

" His general excellence of color is that he is a rich chestnut, and of form is 
that he is a ponj-built horse, Tfteen hands and two ii^ches high, revealing the 
great speed, elastic step and wonderful endurance for which the family is so 
noted. His earriage is lofty, consequently his head and neck ara well set upon 
his shoulders. His back is apparently short, owing, measurably, to the strong 
arches of muscle over the loin, so neces^:ary for enduring strength in the 
trotter. His legs are clean and flat, his wither? and shculders inclined, chest 
deep, ard capacious enough for txcellent respiratory action, main and tail fine 




" COMAS." 
(The properly of B. F. Akers, leavenworth.) 
and long, his eyes are good, as also are his joints and feet, the great and neces- 
sary adjuncts to a successful stock horse. Comas, comparatively sreaking, has 
been brea with more than an ordinary degree of care, and a foundation has 
been formed for future excel euce, which is now fully substuntated by the 
appeavcince and wonderful trotting action displayed by his produce." 



KANSAS BOY. 



273 




"KANSAS BOY-" 
[The property cf B. F, Akers, Leavenworth.] 

I am indebted to Mr. Otto Holstein for the following description of this 
horse. "The stable companion of Comas is his son, 'Kansas Boy.' This fast 
and fashionable bred three year old stallion is a blood bay, fifteen hands and 
three inches high, was sired by Comas, dam by Ganglion Gangle, son of Ber- 
trand, son of Sir Archy, son of imported Diomed. Large as he is there is no 
waste timber in his make up, but is well and compactly built, not leggy^ 
possessed of a gamey head, rangy neck, splendid shoulders, deep, roomy girth, 
well ribbed on the barrel, with grand quarters like his sire, a set of legs as 
hard and clean as polished ivory. An analysis of his breeding is conclusive as 
to his future worth. Through his dam he traces back to the stoutest and most 
fashionable blood known to the American racing turf, as well as throwirg his 
descent down the line of |the winning trotting blood to 'Andrew Jackson,' 
who, in the characteristic words of the late Hiram Woodruff, was 'Rough to 
look at, but king of trotters.' Kansas Boy, will in all probability not be offered 
to public patronage until his trotting abilities are thoroughly developed. He 
has been in training but a short time, and with Comas can trot close to '40 to 
pole." 



274 



Hutchinson's Kansas. 




" NEWRY." 
(The property of Dr. W. L. Challig, Atchison.) 
As among the most noted of thoroughbreds in Kansas, we present herewith 
a cut of the splendid stallion "Newry." He is a bay horse, foaled 1864, bred 
by the late Robt. A. Alexander, of Kentucky, from whom he was purchased by 
Col. C. R. Jennieon, and by him sold to Dr. W. L. Challies, of Atchison. He 
was got by the illustrious race horse and stallion, Lexington, dam Novice, (dam 
of Norfolk,) by imported Gkncoe ; thence through seven uncontaminated 
crosses of pure blood. His produce give ample evidence of a brilliant future 
lor him. Upon the race course, he defeated the fast " Fanny Cheatham," l>oth 
in their two year old form, a first mile of a heat race, in 1:46%. The celebrated 
"Norfolk," his full brother, in a race of three mile heats, defeated "Lodi" in 
the unprecedented time of 6:273^-5:293/^, both heats standing out in bold relief 
against the world. 



DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



State Capitol, Topeka. — Frontispiece. 

The east wing of the elegant design made for the capitol of Kansas is com- 
pleted, excepting the pillars and portico. This wing is 114 feet long, 78 feet 
wide, and 95 feet high to the apex of the roof. It is divided into three stories, 
with basement under ground for steam heating apparatus, fuel, etc. The 
upper story is divided into two legislative halls, with committee rooms, while 
the two lower stories are divided into conveniett offices for the use of the 
Executive and Judiciary Departments of the State Government. The exterior 
walls are four feet thick, and are constructed of Junction City magnesian lime- 
stone. The building is of the corinthian style of architecture. The partition 
walls are of limes'one, with brick arches, upon which rest heavy wrought iron 
beams and joist. The iron suspension roof is covered with tin. The expense 
of the building thus far, has been about $375,000, and with the cempletion of 
the portico and some minor additions, it will answer all needful purposes for 
many years. Mr. J. G. Haskell, of Lawrence, is the architect. It is impossi- 
ble that in all respects this wing can give entire satisfaction as a capitol build- 
ing, but it is a thoroughly built, substantial and elegant structure, and a 
credit to the State. 

It stands upon twenty acres of ground, donated by the city of Topeka to the 
State, near the business part of the place. These grounds are now being laid 
out, and preparations are making to ornament them with trees and shrubery. 

Old University Building, Lawrence. — Page 11. 

This building is 50 feet square and two stories with high basement. It was 
erected by the people of Lawrence, and by the contributions of friends in the 
East. It stands upon an eminennce overlooking the city, and is built in a 
substantial manner of stone and brick, 

State University, Lawrence. — Page 16. 

This cut is an accurate representation of the new University Building. It 
is 246 feet lorg, 98 feet wide in the middle, 63 feet wide in the wings, and 95 
feet high to the observatory balcony. Its chapel hall, in the centre of the 
building, is 94 feet long, 66 feet wide and 35 feet high. The building contains 



276 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

more than 50 rooms for the various brancftes of instruction. For all the Phy- 
sical Sciences, the rooms are arranged in suits of four rooms each, as follows 
Lecture Room 23x45 feet, 1st Labratory 19x52 feet, 2d Labratory 21x45 feet, 
Library and Aparatus Room 10x35 feet, Professor's Room 11x13 feet. The 
building throughout is built of limestone, and the water table, corner stones, 
window arches and sills, etc., are^ of magnesian limestone from Manhattan. 
The shade of the latter contrasts gratefully with the limestone, which is taken 
from the edge of Mount Oread, upon which the building is situated. The 
interior is now being finished, and when completed it will be heated with 
steam, ventilated by the most approved method, and supplied throughout with 
water and gas, and in all respects will be one of the best arranged University 
buildings in the land. The entire cost will be about $150,000, and I venture to 
say that it is one of the largest and best public buildings ever erected in the 
Uaited States for that amount. Mr. J. G. Haskell is the architect. 

The educational work of the institution was commenced September, 1866. 
The President and Chancellor is Gen. John Frasser, L. L. D., assisted by a corps 
of eight accomplished professors. The University is a child of the State and 
crowns the public school system of Kansas. Forty thousand acres cf land has 
been set apart by the State for its endowment, and annual appropriations are 
made for tuition, as all State pupils are admitted free of tuition charges. Its 
scientific ap .ratus is extensive and valuable, and altogether it is one of the 
most promising educational institutions in the United States. 

John Brown's Cabin. Page 20. 

A description of this Cabin follows the cut. 

Humboldt Bridge. Page 25. 

This structure of 190 feet span, crosses the Neosho river at the narrowest 
place occurring within a distance of many miles. It connects the principal 
portion of Humboldt, which is on the east side of the river, with that portion 
around the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad Depot on the west side. 

Adams House, Manhattan. Page 31. 

This Hotel was erected and is owned by Maj. N. A.Adams of Manhattan. It 
contains large, airy rooms, and is a well kept house and an ornament to the 
place. It is constructed of magnesian limestone at a cost of about $30,000. 

Topeka Iron Bridge. Page 8^. 

For a complete description see page 217. The view is taken from the north 
Bide of the river. 

Drouthy Kansas. Page 41. 

This humorous sketch serves to tell its own story, although I have heard 
people protest, with solemn earnestness, that such a sweet potatoe, watermelon 
»nd Irish potatoe, such corn, pumpkins and wheat, never grew in Kansas. 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 277 

People of 80 lugubrious and solem a turn of mind, are not expected to look at 
our " Drouthy." 

The charcoal sketch from which this picture was copied, was dashed off by 
Prof. H. Worrall of Topeka, to eliren a party of Cincinnati tourists who came 
to visit this dry country, but were detained in Topeka several days on account 
of a severe rain storm which flooded all the country. 

Ludington House, Ottawa. Page 47. 

This commodious and substantial block was erected in Ottawa by D. W. Zim- 
merman, and is now owned by citizens of Ottawa. It contains in its farther 
portion a spacious public hall, which is now being fitted up for concerts, exhi- 
bitions, etc , by H. F. Sheldon. The well kept Hotel Is situated on Main street 
and is convenient to the depot. 

The Leavenworth Bridge. Page 54. 

One of the most important works that has been undertaken for the benefit 
of the city of ' eavenworth. and the State of Kansas, is the great railway and 
highway bridge now being constructed over the Missouri River. Th's bridge 
is intended to connect the several railroads centering on the west side of the 
river, at Leavenworth, with those centering on the opposite side ; and also to 
facilitate the intercourse between the metropolis of Kansas, and the rich and 
thriving section of Missouri adjacent to the border. 

The extreme difficulty of bridging the Missouri river, together with the 
novelty of the design adopted here, have invested this bridge with peculiar 
interest, and its successful completion will go far to revolutionize the method 
of placing foundations in similar streams. The piers are each composed of 
three large cast iron cylinders sunk by the " pneumatic process," from fifty to 
seventy feet, not simply resting up^n, but »,ci\ifk\\y penetrating the solid rook a 
distance of about twelve feet. These columns are then filled with masonrj', 
and above water they are braced and tied in a substantial manner, forming a 
great iron pier. The bridge proper is composed of three iron spans, each 340 
feet in length, and the bottom chord will bo 50 feet above extreme high M^ater. 
This great light makes the approaches long and expensive. The cost of the 
whole structure, including nearly one mile of approaches, will be about $750,- 
000, and this capital is mainly furnished by the citizens ef Leavenworth county. 
The foundations and approaches are completed, and it is expected that by 
November 1871, the superstructure will be in place, and ready for the passage of 
trains. 

The cut herewith given, drawn for this book from the engineers working 
plans, shows the bridge as it will appear when completed. The bridge wa» 
designed by G^n. W. W. Wright, engineer in chief, under whose supervision it 
is being constructed. 



278 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

Congregational Church, Lawrence. Page 61. 

The Plymouth Congregational Church, at Lawrence, has been erected dur- 
ing the past two years. It is 115 feet long, and 68 feet wide, in addition to 
which are the entrance and stair case wings. The auditory is 87 feet long, 60 
feet wide and 30 feet high. It is furnished with solid Black Walnut pews aad 
pulpit, upholster d and carpeted throughoxit, and has one of the largest and 
best organs in the west. The building also contains a lecture room 20x60 feet, 
two parlors, each 20x22 feet, and a pastor's study, Sunday Schaol Library and 
infant class room, each 13x20 feet. 

The edifice is built of brick, with limestone dnessing and is of the most sub- 
stantial character. The cost, inclusive of foundation, was $45,000. J. Q. 
Haskell, of Lawrence, was the architect. 

Corner Main and Second Streets, Ottawa. Page 65. 

This view of four or five buildings in Ottawa, is given to illustrate the man- 
ner of growth in a new town. Some of the cheapest buildings on the street 
are shown, but the thoroughly constructed stone and brick bank building, is 
typical of those which will soon take the place of the wooden structures 
around it, and the modest sign of the " Great Western Hotel de Horse," is 
characteristic of the genuine, uapretentious, and retiring Western man. 

Morris School, Leavenworth. Page 70. 

This large public school building was erected in 1866, and 1867, Mr. E. T. 
Carr, of Leavenworth, being the architect. It is built of brick and is a very 
convenient and imposing structure. It seats 850 pupils and cost about $59,000. 
The upper story is used by the State Normal School, of Leavenworth. 

Kansas Valley National Bank, Topeka. Page 11. 

This beautiful building stands on the corner of two principal streets in 
Topeka, and the Kansas Valley National Bank, occupies the principal rooms on 
the main fl -or. The Atchison, Topekaand Santa Fe Land Office, telegraph 
office iud State Superintendent of Insurance, who also occupy rooms. Tb« 
building is constructed of brick and stone, and cost $27,000. The Bank com- 
menced business October 8, 1866. Its authorized capital is $500,000, Daniel M. 
Adams is president and Chas. N. Rix, cashier. Its business has steadily 
increased, and it reports having annually paid its stockholders 20 per cent, per 
annum, besides setting apart a liberal surplusfund. 

Street Scene, Humboldt. Page 82. 

This life-like cut tells its own story, without the necessity for explanatory 
remarks. Like adl other cuts in this book (with exceptions named) it is from a 
photograph. 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 279 

New Episcopal Female Seminary, lopeka. Page 88. 

This elegant structure is now being erected of limestone, with contraating 
magnesiau limestone trimmings. It is situated upon a beautiful square of 20 
acres presented by the city of Topeka, two blocks east of the capital square. 
The view given is from a perspective plan by the architect, Mr. J. G. Haakell. 
It will be completed during the year 1871. 

The building is 100 feet long and 74 feet wide. Its well lighted basement is 
10)^ feet high in the clear, with three high stories above, and airy rooms next 
to the roof. It contains complete accommodations.for boarder(<, and privat* 
apartments for the principal and his family. A beautiful studio with a north 
light wiil be a valuable feature, while the music rooms, reception rooms, par- 
lors, dispensory, infirmary and dormitories will be spacious, and provided with 
all couvenieHces for ventilation and to promote health. 

The south wing containing the gymut^ium, the main school room and tha 
chapel, bears the name of Wolfe Hall, alter Mr. John D. Wolfe of New York, 
who has very generously contributed about $20,000 to the institution. 

This is to be, in all its appointments, the most complete girls schools this 
side of the Mississippi, and perhaps we should say this side of tha AUeghanies 
Rev. J. N. Lee, A. M , is principal, and the school is under the supervisory care 
of Rt. Rev. Thomas H. Vail, D. D., Bishop of the Diocese of Kansas, who la 
Pres'dent of the Bward of Trustees for the institution. The catalogue for last 
year shows an attendance of 148 pupils, five pianos in use, etc., during which 
time the school was in session in the old building:. All the varied advantages 
of this institution, including a home with its care and culture, are to b« 
obtained for about $300 per annum. 

Baptist Church, Leavenworth. Page 95. 

This church is 57x96 feet from outside to outside, including towers. Th« 
audience room u 53x67 feet. The hight of walls to commencementof roof is 28 
feet, and the hight from floor to apex is 62 feet. This room is carpeted and each 
sitting cushioned. The sittings, including gallery, number 700. Each tower 
has two finished rooms entered from gallery. In the basement a.e five rooma. 
one of which is a session room that seats 300 persons. The church is built of 
brick, and finished in the most thorough and elegant manner. The entire coet 
has been about $65,000. 

Wire Suspension Bridge, Ottawa. Page 100. 

This beautiful structure was erected in the year 1867 at a cost of above 
$14,000. Its span is 150 feet, and it rests upon abutments of rough dressed 
limestene each being founded upon the rock bottom of the river bod. They 
are 10x20 feet at the base and about 30 feet high. It connects the north and 
south portions of Main street in the city of Ottawa, which here crosses the 
timber skirted Marias ^es Cygnes. 



280 



Ottawa University. Page 106. 



This building was erected in 1866 of limestone walls faced with cut sand. 
Btone, and with limestone cap sills, corners, etc. It is 40x65 feet in size, and 
with three high stories, including basement, and is elegantly finished. It 
stanas upon one section of 640 acres of choice land, adjacent to the city of 
Ottawa, and through the land winds a small stream fringed with timber. This 
section is divided by Osage Orange hedges into fields of convenient size, and 
adorned with forest, fruit and ornmental trees and shrubbery. 

Poolers Building, Lawrence. Page 110. 

This fine building is tho property of Samuel Poole, of Lawrence, It is built 
of brick and occupies one of the most prominent corners on Massachusetts 
stieet. It is 51 feet widj and 110 feet long. The lower story is used for busi- 
noss purposes, and the upper story is occupied by Liberty Hall. This fine 
rooms seats 1,000 persons, and is 25 feet high. The walls and ceiling are 
frescoed, and the stago is arranged with scenery and foot lights complete. The 
stage is 48x20 feet. 

Block in Humboldt. Page 115. 

This block is erected of stone on the main square in Humboldt, and Is 
devoted to general business purposes. 

Public School, Pomona, Page 122. 

This commodious and convenient scliool house was erected in Pomona 
within a year after the first house was built in the village. It contains a 
graded school, with a large attendance, and illustrates the modern methods by 
which we transform, in a brief space of time, a spot of open prairie, to a crowded 
town, with all the conveniences of modern civilization. 

S. W. Cor. Second and Delaware Sts., Leavenworth. Page 126. 

The elegant four story building, represented in this picture, will be recognized 
by Kansans as standing on one of the principal streets in Leavenworth. These 
stores are constructed of brick and stone, with iron fronts, and are finished in 
the most thorough and workmanlike manner, and are occupied by substantial 
and reliable bussness firms. 

Universalist Church, Lawrence. Page 130. 

I take pleasure in calling attention to this beautiful little church, not only 
from its harmonious proportions and graceful parts, but from the peculiar 
adaptation of the plan to a new country. 

Everything attempted to be done in a new country, from the least to the 
greatest, whether the construction of a stable to to the erection of a Cathedral ; 
whether the laying out of a new town, or the completion of a continertal 
railroad, should be so planned that it shall answer the immediate piT-popes for 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 281 

which it is intended, and at the same time be capable of expansion, by additions 
which ahali not mar the imity of the design. 

The lecture room at the rear of the main portion of this church, is 22x46 
feet, forming a complete little church for a new settlement, capable of seating 
two hundred persons. It is intered through the lobby, which shows in the cut, 
while the end door may be thrown open for egress. The audience room, which 
can be added at any time, is about 34x45 feet, with a tower 12x12 feet, and a 
lobby in front. The larger room seats 300 persons, and the interior is nicely 
finished with Black Walnut aud Ilard Pine. This church is built of pine, 
braced aud tied together in the most subatantial manner, and the entire cost 
is within ten thousand dollars. I think it would be a valuable improvement, 
BO to construct the partition between the rooms, that it could be removed at 
pleasure, forming one large audience room for extra occasions. 

Kansas Ih^uit Medals. Pages 139-143. 

In the year 1869 an appropriation of $500 was made by the Kansaa State 
Legislature, to defray the expenses of an exhibition of fruit before the American 
Pomological Society, to convene in Philadelphia during the same year. Dr. 
Wm. M. Housely, George T. Anthony, C. B. Lines and S. T. Kelsey, were 
appointed a committee by the Kansas State Horticultural Society to collect 
fruits for the purpose of this exhibition. They obtaicied about 20 barrels of 
apples, pears and grapes, and proceeded with them to Philadelphia. There 
they found the American Pomological Society convened with the Pennsylvania 
Horticultural Society, and the exhibition of fruits was held under the auspices 
of the latter societj'. Notwithstanding the large display of fruits there made, 
aud the extraordinary exertions of other states to carry off the coveted first 
prize, the award of the great gold medal was made " to the Kansas State Hor- 
ticultural Society for a display of fruits unsurpassed for beauty and excellence." 
Such was the size, beauty and flavor of the Kansas fruits, that none but experts 
could recognize in the specimens, the varieties which they were accustomed to 
raise in the east. 

Neosho Falls, Woodson County, Page 148. 

This view of the valuable water power on the Neosho river at the town of 
Neosho Falls is accurately copied from the photograph, excepting that both of 
the long approaches to the bridge ai-e constructed of iron, with arched supports, 
which the artist has not inserted in the approach which is shown. This water 
power was improved by Col. N. S. Qoss, the founder of the flourishmg town of 
Neosho Falls. The length of the dam is 220 feet, and the power is sufficient to 
carry a large amount of machinery. Being situated upon the railroad which 
is penetrating the best cotton fieldi in America, this would be an excellent site 
for a cotton factory. The enterprising town is hidden by the trees and river 
bank, at the left of the picture. 
11* 



382 HUTCHINSON'S KANSAS. 

Plan of Highland Cemetery, Junction City, Page 156. 

This plan sufficiently explains itself, while it bespeaks the taste and public 
spirit of the people of Junction City, who have thus laid out and adorned the 
city of the dead. The above plan was but recently adopted, but the work of 
growing trees and shrubbery is progressing as rapidly as possible. 

Presbyterian Church, Junction City. Page 166. 

I regret to acknowledge that the data I had received concerning this tasteful 
edifice, is not at hand at the moment of sending this matter to press. The cut 
is from an accurate photographic view, and sufficiently shows the excellent 
appearance of the structure. It is built of magnesian limestone, and is 
thoroughly finished inside and out. All must concede that it is a very good 
building to stand where bufifalo were pursued by the wild Indian, but a short 
fifteen years ago. E. T. Carr of Leavenworth was the architect. 

Lincoln School, TojjeJca. Page 179. 

This is one of the most graceful and complete structures in the State. It 
forms a harmonious picture from whatever point of view it is approached. It 
Is in the form of an irregular Greek cross, and is 74x91 feet in size and three 
stories high, exclusive of basement. Its largest tower is 15 feet square and 104 
feet high. The smaller tower forms the ventilating shaft, with a smoke stack 
in the centre. The walls are limestone faced with brick, and the openings are 
trimmed with an excellent quality of limestone. It contains seven school 
rooms, each about 24x33 feet, three recitation rooms, a suffioieHt number of 
wardrobes and dressing rooms, and a hall in the third story 36x51 feet. The 
building seats 704 pupils, or 528, if all occupy separate desks. It was erected 
in 1870 at a total cost of about $50,000 including furnishings. 

The Challis Ferry Boat, Atchison. Page 186. 

The ferry boat " S. C. Pomeroy," at Atchison, is propelled by two powerful 
engines, and is capable of carrying across the swift waters of the Missouri a 
large number of loaded teams. The ferry boats which ply between the opposite 
banks of our western rivers, as well as the steamboats which carry freight and 
passengers up and down these rivers, are all so constructed as to take on or 
discharge passengers, freight, teams, cattle, etc., at the side of the boat, instead 
of the end. This is necessary, from the fact that the strength of the current 
In these rivers is so great as to oblige the boats to tie up with their bows 
headed up stream, when their sides drift against the bank. As the rivers are 
constantly rising and falling, the ferry boats tie up to a wharf boat, which is 
moored along shore, and which is reached by a bridge from the land. When 
this ferry boat is crowded, teams pass entirely around it on the open space 
shown in the picture. 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 283 

Steam Flouring Mill, Pomona. Page 206. 

This substantial stone laiilding -was receutly erected and fitted up with the 
most approved mill machinery, at a total expense of abo .t $18,000. Kansas 
now has many excellent flouring mills, biit she needs many more, especially in 
the newly settled portions of the State. 

Exchange Bank, Atchison. Page 213. 

This fine brick block is situated on the principal s'reftt in Atchison, and was 
built and U owned by the Banking House of Wm. Iletherington & Co. This 
is the oldest Banking House in Atchison, having commenced in 1859, and con- 
tinued with a constantlj- increasing business. The building i^ built of brick 
and stone, with iron trimmings, and is an elegant and durable structure. 

Bancroft Block, Emporia. Page 227. 

This building is 5Cs80 feet in size, and three stories high with basement. It 
is built of stone and brick, with iron front, and is completed in the most sub- 
stantial and tasteful manner. Tne lower story is used for stores, the second 
story for business offices, including the real estate office of E. P. Bancroft, who 
erected and owns the building. The third story is thrown into one iai-ge hall» 
well lighted and ventilated, which will seat G60 persons. It is con-idere ] by 
speakers and singers one of the besthall^ in the state. It has two good entran. 
ces, and is situated in the centre of business and near the hotels. 

Cor. Levee and Main Street, Leavenworth. Page 229. 

This magnificent block of buildings is constructed of brick and iron. It 
has been erected at different times and by various parties, during the Iiist twelve 
years, and is devoted exclusively to wholesale merchan Hsing, and is occupied 
by ^»ealthy firms who carry heavy stock) of good?. In the distance is the 
Planters House, one of the best known hotels in the West. 

King L^on Bridge Manufactory and Iron Works, lola. Page 237 . 

The main building shown in the picture is 50x350 feet, and the addition is 40 
x200 feet. Both buildings are 18 feeet high, and built of limestone. They have 
capacity for about 300 workmen. The main track of the Leavenworth, Law- 
rence and Galveston Railroad passes in front of the building, and a side track 
passes across the middle of the rear building. Coal from the vicinity is now- 
furnished at 20 cents per bushel, and a shaft is being sunk, from which coal is 
to be delivered to the works at 12 cents per bushel. 

This company was organized since January, 1871, and its manufactory will 
soon be in motion. The company consists of Z. King, president, T. B. Mills, 
vice presiden, Jas. A. King, secretary, and B. M. Smifn, treasurer, and it has 
control of all territory west of the Mississippi river, for the manufacture and 
sale of the celebrated King's Wrought Iron Bridges. (See page 217.) 



284 Hutchinson's Kansas. 

Missouri Valley Life Ins. Building, Leavenworth. Sage 239. 

This buildiug is now in course of erection by the Misaouri Valley Life Insn 
rauC'^ Company, of Leavenworth, and when comple'ed will be one of the finest 
aud best appointed buildings n the country. It is 73x125 feet on the gi-ound, 
is to be facei with dressed stone, the basement blue lime; tone and the super- 
structure with a fine quality of magnesian limestone. The basement is to be 5 
feet in the clear above the sidewalks, and will be divided into oflSces, coal room, 
boiler room, etc. These offices are to be well lighted and pleasant, and are 
designed for first class business offices. The first floor is to be fitted up entire 
for ofiicos, anil approached from the corner entrance will be the principal busi- 
ness officofi of the company with the minor offices in the se ond story, and so 
arranged a^ to be approached by a private stair case. Besides the numerous 
rooms iu the second story for the u?e of the company, there are several splendid 
offices, defligned for renting. In the third story the Free Masons propose to 
hay 3 their Lodge room?. These when completed, will ba the finest in the West. 
The buildiug U to be heated by steam, will be thoroughly ventilated and sup- 
plied with all the modern improvements, and from its central location and th« 
admirabieadaptafion to the uses for which it is intended, it will undoubtedly be 
a profitaWe investment. The architect is E. f. Carr of Leavenworth. 

Minister, No. 6,363. Page 244. 

This Bplendio animal is of red color. He took the first premium at the fair 
of the Kansas St^te Agricultural Society in 1870. He wis got by Lord Derby, 
4, 949, and was calved September 23, 1863, and was bred by the 'ate R. A. Alex- 
ander of Kentucky. He is now owned by Andrew Wilson of Topeka, Kansas- 
Ills pi>digree is to be found in the America-a Short Horn Herd Book, vol. 7' 
His weight ou 17th August, 1868, was 2,310 fi)s. 

Oxford Wiley, No. 8,? 56. Page 246. 

Oxford Wiley was calved August 13, 1866, was bred by A. J. Alexander of 
Ke Jtucky, twid is now <■ wned by N. L. Chaff'ee of Ashtabula county, Chio. He 
is kept by the sons of Judge Chafi"ee at their farm near Manhattan. Kansas* 
His color ts red roan. He was got by imported Royal Oxford, 1,877 and is a 
very fine animal. 

" Cvmusr Page 302. 

(The property of B.E. Akers, Leavenwarth.) 
Described on same page. 

''Kansas Bog.- Page 303. 

(The property of B. F. Akers, LeavenworLh.) 
l)escribed on same page. 

'• Newry.'' Page 304. 

(The property of Br. W. L. Cballis, Atchison.) 
Describe 1 on same page. 



INDEX 



PAGE. 

Ares, 9 ,184, 18T 

Alum • 89 

American Desert 108,112 

Atchison and Nebraska Railroad and its towns 226 

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad and its towns 242 

Altitudes 258 

Boundaries 9 

Barometrical observations 34 

Brick r. 93 

Burning lime 83 

Buffalo grass 94 

Blue grass 136 

Banks 190 

Climate 29 

Climate, change of 35 

Coal 73 

Cement 90 

Oiay forbr'ck ^ 93 

Cattle business .'. 114 

Common schools 176 

Churches and clergy 180 

Counties, square miles and statistics 184,187 

•Central Branch Union Pacific Railroad and its towns 222 

Cost of living 268 

Dairying 103 

Dtsert 108,112 

Description of Illustrations 275 

Englishman's impressions 162 

Frosts 34 

Freestone 69 

Fiuit growing 1£8 

Farming 146 

Forest trees 150 

Freights 262 

Grass, prairie 52 

Qrasfl, buflEalo . 94 

Grass, tame 136 



286 



INDEX. 



Geo'ogy 

Gypsum 

Growth of KaD?as . 
Humidity, relative . 
Health 



Hydraulic cement. 

Hay 

Hedges 



Hogs 

How to come to Kansas. 
Horses 



Iron 

Inhabitants 

Irrigatio-D, sub 

Irrigation 

Illustrations, Description of 

Kansas Pacific Railway and its towns. 
Lead 



Lime 

Land survey 

Land, sale of 

Land, U. S. offices 

Leavenworth, Lawraice and Galveston Railroad and its towns. 

Mud 

Marble .^ 

Mule breeding 

Missouri River Railroad 

Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad and its towns 

Missouri River, Fort Scott and Gulf Railroad and its towns 

Manufactures 

Newspapers 

Prairie grass 

Petroleum 

Paints 



Productions 

Population for 1860, 1865 and 1870, by counties. 

Population compared with other States , 

Quarries , 

Rivers , 

Rain fall 



32. 33, 



PAGE. 

59 

71 

184,188 

34 

43 

90 

52,99 

150 

125,260 

265 

270 

86 

16T 

247 

255 

275 

214 

86 

93 

191 

198,207 

206 

233 

55 

69,241 

135 

227 

228 

236 

261 

168 

52 

90 

91 

19, 259 

184 

188 

64 

9 

35, 40, 43 

65 



Railroads 



INDEX. '; 287 

PAGE. 

Surface and scenerj' 13 

Soil 18 

Soil, analysis of. 21, 23, 2& 

Sky, face of. 33 

Stone quarries 6^ 

Sandstone 69 

Salt - 79 

Sheep business 125 

Schools, common 176 

School, denominational 180 

State institutions 180 

Securities , 189 

Survey of government land 191 

Sale of " " 198,207 

Square miles of counties 184, 187 

St. Joseph & Denver Railroad and its towns 225 

St. Louis, Lawrence & Denver Railroad and its towns 2-11 

Table of Agricultural productions 19 

rain fall 32,33,40,43 

" temperature 33 

" barometrical observations, force of vapor, and frost?.. 34 

" direction of winds 58 

" salt analysis 83,84,85 

" prices of beef in Chicago 124 

" growth of trees 161,162 

•' newspapers , 173 

" public school statistics 177,178 

" growth by counties 184 

" square miles in counties 184, 187 

" banks 190 

" prices of furniture 267 

" agricultural implements, etc 268 

•' provisions 269 

Timber 50, 150 

Tin 87 

Tame grasses 136 

Taxes 182 

Taxable property, increase of. 1S9- 

Towns not described with railroads 250 

Vapor, force of. ^^^ 34 

Vineyards 144 

Water 47 

Wind and windmills 67 

Western Kansas 94 

When to come to Kansas 264 

What to»bring 266 



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